EMRD
by AgntNevada
Summary: A Dancer, a Fighter, a Thrill Seeker, and a Loner get the chance of a lifetime when they are accepted into Beacon academy. From the moment they arrive, their lives begin to change. New friends, rivals, and adventures await as they enter the academy's halls. As the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses, they will have to face the darkness. Whether they are ready or not.
1. E Trailer

_The simplest wishes are the ones that grant strength._

The music soft and enchanting, as if it had been taken from any of the fairy tales she had been told during her childhood. The formal suits and dresses of the men and women around her made almost inaudible rustling as the clothes owners flowed in time with the music. They danced flawlessly, following each step and movement with the kind of grace and skill that takes decades of practice and talent to attain.

Emily moved in time with everyone else, matching her partner's steps and movements with her own, feeling light and giddy with joy.

She loved to dance. The sensation of performing alongside a partner, their destinies interlocked, their actions in sync. The motions, the grace, it all felt natural to her.

She lightly held her partner's hand and he twirled her around, her knee length skirt flowing out from her as she spun. She felt as if she was on a cloud, light and care-free. She was an equal here. The cat ears on her head didn't make her any less talented than anybody else in the ballroom.

The steps of the dance led her and her partner into a shaft of light that came in through a tall, stained glass window and she was spun around once again. The Faunus let out a small laugh, reveling in the sense of joy that simply radiated out of her.

She was enjoying herself so much that she almost didn't notice the atmosphere begin to change, as well as the dance.

The dancer's movements changed subtly, seeming to become more jaded or tolerant, if that were possible.

The bubble of joy in Emily's chest began to diminish slightly as she noticed the shift in atmosphere. The dancers never stopped their graceful and elegant movements, but they also seemed to be paying more attention to her.

Her partner's hand was less willing to hold her own than it was before. His grip up until now had been firm, competent, and trusting. Now he only gingerly held onto her, as if she carried some kind of transmittable disease that he was afraid of catching.

The light streaming through the windows began to slowly shift in color. Instead of light, innocent light, it now was slowly becoming darker, more sinister and more blood red.

The patterns on the windows had begun to change as well. Before, they had been designs of breath taking beauty and splendor. Now, though, they were turning into something darker, becoming scenes of fear and horror.

It was only after Emily had noticed these changes that she also noticed that all of the other dancers had stopped and were watching her and her partner. Also that her partner's movements had become more aggressive, even hostile. His face twisted into something resembling revulsion and he yanked his hand out and away from hers, forcing the Faunus to spin a little form the force.

The light of the ballroom had turned completely blood red and the scenes stained on the windows had disappeared, replaced with the shape of a red wolf's head with slash marks behind it.

None of the other dancers, all of which were human, spoke, but words seemed to be projected from them. Thrown out as if they were stones.

 _Killer_. They seemed to say. _Liar, animal, monster. Faunus._

Tears formed in the cat's eyes. Tears of pain, of rejection. The bubble of joy that had been in her chest burst and a tear slid down to her chin before dropping lightly to the floor. The floor seemed to ripple with the tear drop and the dancers changed.

They maintained their human shape, but instantly became grotesque. Their skin became midnight black and their eyes burned red with malice and hate. They were all alike. Some of their jaws became misshapen almost like a wolf's snout and other's hands became claws. Others even gained long scorpion tails with razor sharp stingers. All of them, grew masks. White masks that covered their heads, leaving only their eyes and mouths uncovered.

Emily felt fear, revulsion, and, most of all, pity. In their attempts to see her as a monster, they had become monsters themselves. They resembled the Grimm and the same dark void of rage and contempt she felt from them, radiated from the former dancers.

Her fear and revulsion disappeared, to be replaced by resolve. The motive of these people was quite clear. It rolled off of them so strongly that it wouldn't have mattered if they had tried to conceal it. They intended to kill her. She wasn't planning on letting them.

Emily adjusted her stance, her hand moving to the belt of intricate metal around her waist. She gripped the metal hilt with its spiked end pulled it. The jiujiebian swung out and the Faunus prepared to fight.

The dancers, although they hardly resembled people anymore, charged, eager for her blood.

Emily pirouetted out of the way and her jiujiebian, the Wind's Edge, slashed out wrapping around one of monstrous dancers. Emily pulled, and the razor sharp segments of metal bit through the dancer. Black vapor rose from the two halves of the monster as it fell, but Emily hadn't stopped moving. She spun and twisted her body, dodging attacks from the other dancers and the Wind's Edge moved in time with the Faunus. The segmented metal whip slashed, wrapped, and cut into her attackers, who roared, howled, or even hissed in rage and pain.

They pressed closer towards her and the Faunus began to feel overwhelmed, her weapon wasn't specifically designed to handle so many opponents in such close quarters.

A light green light surrounded the blonde girl and the rushing sound of wind rose up. The ballerina spun in a quick circle and wind rushed out her and knocked away the enemies surrounding her. Her jiujiebian followed and forced those who had managed to keep standing back.

Emily adjusted her stance and the metal segments of the jiujiebian snaked into the handle of the weapon. Only the thin blade that was the last segment remained, turning the chain whip into a thin, rapier-like, dagger. Yellow light radiated from the hilt of the weapon and Emily's eyes grew more determined.

The Faunus slashed the dagger and lightning arced out into one of the monstrous dancers. The bolt of energy struck the humanoid in the chest and sent it flying across the room. Emily twirled and the weapon extended into a jiujiebian once again and wrapped around the chest of another one of the former dancers. Energy coursed through the weapon and jolted the enemy.

She yanked her arm back and sliced the monster in half, withdrawing the weapon into its dagger-like shape again just in time for the girl deflect an attack from one of the wolfish looking dancers. Viridian light pulsed from the girl and the monster was put off balance, giving her the chance she needed to force her rapier-dagger through the monster's chest.

Emily pulled the weapon out of the former dancer and pirouetted past another attempt to attack her from behind. She stabbed the weapon's blade into the creature's arm and brought out several of the jiujiebian's links. She moved with incredible speed and wrapped the metal segments around the monster's neck. She moved away and pulled her arm back, hard.

The razor sharp metal sliced through the monster's neck and decapitated it. As it fell to the ground, black vapor rising from the collapsed body, Emily glanced around at the many ex-dancers still around her.

The Faunus closed her eyes and began to focus. Viridian light surrounded her as ehr aura manifested. The Dust held in the Wind's Edge began to glow with its yellow light as well.

The humanoid Grimm charged forward while the girl appeared to be distracted. A moment later, the jiujiebian segments retracted into the Wind's Edge's hilt and the girl began pirouetting. Wind swirled around her as she did and the Dust reacted to the girl's aura. Lines of lightning surrounded the girl as the monsters drew closer to her. Just as they got within striking distance, they collected energy surged out from the girl. The monsters were knocked back through the air and rapidly disintegrated, becoming nothing but vapor before the even touched the ground.

Emily stopped spinning and looked around. None of the monsters remained and she was completely alone. The light, the windows, and everything else in the ballroom had changed back to its original state.

A sensation of stillness and calm came and Emily smiled slightly. She faintly heard the sound of a great crowd of people clapping and she turned around to see that she was suddenly on a stage and that there were lights and people all watching her and applauding.

A faint pink blush formed on her face and she waved politely to the crowd just before she was surrounded by bright, white light.


	2. M Trailer

_For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of glory and virtue to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death.-Monty Oum_

Marie stood in front of the grave in silence. She stood there, feeling the stabbing at her heart, as she did every year. The events of that day were burned clearly into her mind, and her nightmares. She didn't bother reflecting on them. She was tormented with the images enough during her dreams. She simply stared at the stone that marked the place that the bodies rested. After a long silence, she spoke.

"I've done it." She said. "I got in." The gravestone, naturally, didn't reply. "I meant what I told you guys five years ago." She maroon haired girl continued. "I'm going to change things. I don't want your deaths to be in vain. As a Huntress I'll be able to fix this." The girl looked around the graveyard, at the stones where people were laid to rest. "No one else should have to suffer like this."

The human laid down the bouquet of roses she carried and then kissed the ends of her fingers on her right hand. She laid her hand on the stone and read the words engraved on it.

 _Daemond and Emeralda Bordeaux. Honored parents and protectors._

Marie turned away and her hand slid from the stone. She didn't cry, she'd stopped that years ago. There wasn't any point in shedding tears now.

She wandered back into the city, her thoughts haunted by the events of the last five years behind a facade of stony calm. Things were going to be changing soon. She knew that for certain.

The sound of shouts echoed down the streets. Marie turned her head towards the sound and adjusted her direction accordingly. After a few moments, she came to a scene she really didn't want to see.

A large crowd had gathered around a storefront. Several members of the mob were brandishing signs and the crowd was chanting: "Equal rights! Equal rights!"

Marie let out a sigh. Some unknown force clearly had it out for her tonight. Her immediate reaction was to feel hate. How could these people speak of equality and rights after what they had done? Another part of her mind countered, pointing out that they had every right to protest unfair treatment.

But the first part of her mind was stubborn. That fact still didn't condone murder. To which the second part had the ready answer. It wasn't fair to judge all Faunus based on the actions of a few.

The maroonette let out another breath. It really wasn't fair to be so harsh. It wasn't like the Faunus didn't have a good reason to be so upset. Marie felt tired of the whole affair. How it tore her apart every time she was presented with it. How others tried to force her to take sides. She was sick of it all.

It was then that she noticed something off. The crowd of Faunus had continued to protest, but a few scattered throughout the crowd had begun adjusting their appearance, putting on masks and pulling out cylindrical objects. Movement out of the corner of her eye made Marie look up and see several more people of rooftops, hefting weapons.

Realization dawned on the girl and anger surged through her small body. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was running towards the crowd. Her legs began to glow grey as her aura manifested and she used her Semblance. She leapt and flew high into the air, briefly eclipsing the moon before landing heavily in front of the shop in a crouched position. She stood quickly and short blades slid out of the maroon bracers on her arms.

Marie slashed her right arm laterally in front of her, smashing the burning bottle before it reached the shop front. The active Dust contained within the bottle spread around her and ignited, leaving a trail of fire around the fighter.

At the same time, Marie lifted her left arm and blade into a defensive position and deflected a bullet heading for her.

The gathered, protesting Faunus realized what was happening and began to scatter. A handful charged her instead, these Faunus wore the masks of White Fang members and had weapons drawn.

Marie parried a sword strike with her bracer and pressed against her attacker, moving her arm away from her body. This forced away her attacker's weapon and brought her own blade swinging towards her attacker's body. The Faunus barely managed to evade the attack, but didn't notice her booted leg coming towards his stomach. Her foot met with his gut and sent him off of his feet, his breath leaving his lungs with a loud popping sound.

Marie rotated and brought her blades up in an X in front of her to meet another attacker's sword.

"Idiot child." The Faunus growled. "Now you'll just be another example of why we fight."

Marie's body began to glow grey with the light of her aura and she snarled, "I know what you'll bring if you keep this up." Her arms shifted and her blades cut clean through the White Fang member's weapon and sliced an X across his chest. The goon must've had training in how to use his aura because he didn't begin to bleed. The goon staggered back with the force of the slash and Marie retracted her blades back into their bracers and right hooked the goon square in the jaw. She tapped just slightly into her Semblance as she struck and there was a loud crack from his jaw and he dropped like a sack of bricks.

The fighter heard something whooshing behind her and rotated with blinding speed, grabbing the swinging blade with her bare hand. Her hand glowed briefly grey and she twitched her wrist, snapping the blade cleanly.

Her attacker's face became surprised as she brought her head forward and slammed their foreheads together in a headbutt. The Faunus crumpled.

Marie looked around for more attackers and she felt a sudden dangerous sensation. She went into a forward roll and barely evaded an attack from the Faunus that had been on the nearby roof.

His weapon was more advanced, being a hybrid of a rifle and pole arm. He swung the pole arm and Marie swatted at the thing with the back of her grey glowing hand. The weapon was sent flying out of the Faunus' hand as if it had been hit by a car.

Fear came into the White Fang member's eyes and he began to back away.

"Wait!" He said. "I surrender! Please, don't hurt me!" Marie stared at him for a long moment before she relaxed. She turned away from him and his hand quickly pulled something from his side.

Marie's arm blurred as the blade slid out of her bracer and sliced clean through the pistol the Faunus had drawn. Her storm grey eyes flashed with rage and the Faunus blanched. The blade retracted back into the bracer and she grabbed the goon by the front of his shirt. He began to beg again and she slammed him into a nearby wall.

"I'm _not_ going to kill you." She growled with barely held back anger. "Because that would just bring me down to your pathetic level. I gave you mercy once already and you tried to shoot me in the back. Try it again and I won't be so kind." She let him go and he dropped heavily to the ground. She brought her hand down on the top of his head and he fell to his side, stunned.

There was the sound of footsteps from behind her and she turned to find the shopkeep approaching her.

"Oh thank you so much." He was saying in a wheezy voice. "I don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't shown up."

Marie let out a breath and said, "I'm just doing my job."

"Oh, but please." The man said. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Marie met the man's eyes.

"You can repay me by letting Faunus into your shop." The shopkeeper blanched.

"Y-you can't be serious." He said in surprise. "After what those animals tried to do to my shop? To me? After all that, you want me to _service_ those animals?" Marie's eyes narrowed in response.

"Yes." She said in a low, even voice. "They're people just like you and me. So what if they're different? They're still people." The man opened his mouth to retort but Marie cut him off. "You might want to think really hard about what you're going to say. I might have to remind you about what would've happened if I hadn't been here. Remember that the next time you decide to treat someone second class." Then she spun on her heel and left. She hoped things would be easier tonight. Maybe she wouldn't be tormented by the nightmares tonight. Maybe.


	3. R Trailer

_Actions speak louder than words, because they reveal what a person believes on a primal level. When you act, you know who you truly are._

Reginald walked down the street, smiling to himself. Music blared in his ears, blocking out most of what might be happening around him. He hummed along to the tune that was playing and even danced a little to the beat.

Reginald noticed that some of the very few people who were out at this time of night gave him odd looks as he passed them. His smile grew. Maybe they were looking at the curved horns on his head, or maybe they just found his good mood odd. He didn't care. He was happy and he wasn't going to let anyone else get in the way of that.

Just to prove the point, he closed his eyes and did a little spin, reveling in the indifferent attention that was he was granted.

He opened his eyes and was just slightly miffed that there suddenly didn't seem to be anyone there. He looked around and didn't see any signs of life. A newspaper drifted through the air, carried by a slight breeze.

"Swell", the Faunus said. With a small shrug, he continued walking. He'd barely moved a few steps when he noticed that he wasn't as alone as he thought. There were a few people in a semicircle in a nearby alley.

Curious, Reginald moved towards the alley. He yanked his earphones out of his ears in order to hear better. The music, not paused, blared out of the earbuds for anyone nearby to hear. Either his music was louder than he realized or some of the unknown people had good hearing because of couple of them turned and moved towards him.

Reginald had a glimpse of a beautiful Faunus girl looking scared and annoyed before the two men reached him.

"You don't want to be here." The closer of the two said.

"Now what would make you say that?" Reginald asked in a cheery voice. "The night is wonderful, I happen to like the city, and walking is not an objectionable form of exercise." He added with a grin.

The second man looked at the first with a you've-got-to-be-kidding look. Reginald lifted his hands up in a shrug.

"Beat it." The first said, slowly starting to draw his sword. "If you know what's good for you."

Reginald brought his hands down to his sides and gave the thug a look. "Do I seriously look like a guy who knows what's good for him? My mom can go on for hours about that. Hey, if it's not too much to ask, who's the cute girl?"

"Get going." The second thug said, completely drawing his sword along with his partner.

Reginald smirked. "Suit yourself." The Faunus said and swung the mace he'd gripped when he lowered his arms straight into the side of the second thug's head. The man was launched from his feet and sent into his partner. Both men hit the ground and lay there, moaning in pain. Reginald stepped over them, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Hello?" He called out, catching the attention of the other thugs. "I'm sorry to interrupt what must be entertaining for you all, but I can't help noticing that this gorgeous girl doesn't seem very happy."

One of the thugs looked to another and said, "Great, another freak. We can beat this one up too. Could always do with less of them."

Reginald laughed and said, "I'm sorry. My doctor forbid me from being beaten up today, so I'll have to pass."

"Too late. You might want to give him a call. 'Cause you two are going to need it." The thug said and he and his companions drew their swords and guns.

Reginald hefted his weapon faster and fired a short burst of bullets at the feet of the thugs, the mace having changed into a tommy gun on the fly. The thugs stumbled back to avoid the fire, but kept their weapons ready. The Faunus' eyes quickly flicked to each of the four thugs. This would have to be quick, otherwise the girl might get hurt.

In a sudden move, Reginald threw his weapon, already changing back into a mace, towards the furthest opponent, knocking the human down. The Faunus moved forward just enough to thrust his fist into the nearest thug's gut. The criminal was ready for the attack, bringing his arms down into a block.

With a devilish grin, Reginald grabbed the man's shoulder and head-butted him. The man slumped in Reginald's grasp as the Faunus rotated and shoved the unconscious thug into his nearby partner. The third thug staggered back with the weight suddenly forced on him, giving Reginald time to knock out his feet and cause both fighters to hit the ground.

The Faunus hopped over the two and sent his mace into the air with a flick of his foot. Reginald caught the weapon and brought it down onto the first thug's head. The gunman collapsed.

There was a female gasp of fear and Reginald spun around to see the fourth thug holding his weapon to the Faunus girl's head. The barrel of the gun was jammed into the side of the girl's head and the bayonet attachment was near her throat. It would only take one move to make sure that she was thoroughly dead.

"Drop the weapon, scum." The thug spat. Reginald saw the look of fear in there Faunus girl's eyes and he slowly lifted his arms up, the mace's head and barrel pointing harmlessly towards the ground.

"Take it easy man." Reginald said. "You're the one who wanted a workout, not me. Are you alright, sweetheart?" He asked the Faunus girl softly. A tear rolled down the girl's cheek and she seemed about to answer, but the thug cut her off before she could.

"I said drop the weapon, filth, or I'll kill her. I swear I will." He was clearly scared, panic was in his voice and the weapon shook slightly in his hand.

Reginald gave the man a small smile. "Alright. I'm dropping it." The girl's eyes widened as Reginald's fingers released the hilt and the assault mace fell towards the ground. Everything seemed to slow down as the man's arm moved ever so slightly away from the Faunus girl. Then the alleyway was full of blinding, gold light, as Reginald's aura came out. The thug and the girl screamed. The was the sound of bone meeting bone, and then bone meeting brick and the light vanished.

The girl's eyes were wide as her vision came back to her. Reginald was standing over the unconscious thug, his foot on top of the weapon that had been so close to killing her. Reginald flexed his fist.

"Ow. That guy was more skull than brain." He said. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

The girl nodded, tears of relief rolling down her cheeks. Reginald smiled. "Let's get out of here. There's a cafe down the street we can go to. The owner knows me."

"Thank you." the girl said. "I don't even know your name."

"Reginald. Reginald Aurum. Call me Reg, for short."

"Why?" The girl asked.

"Why Reg? I like to think it's cool. Probably isn't but," he shrugged.

The girl giggled slightly. "No. Why help? You could've walked away." She seemed surprised at her own question.

Reginald led the girl around a corner and said, "The honorable man from all the fairy tales we're told as kids would say that it is his duty to help someone in need. Some Faunus like you and I might say that we should never turn our backs on one of our own. Others still might simply want to help a gorgeous girl like yourself. But it wasn't for any of those reasons."

"Then, why?" The girl asked.

Reginald met her eye and said. "Because it's fun."

"Fun?" She asked, confused.

"Yeah. What's the point in doing something if you don't enjoy it? I like to help people because it's fun. I like to fight because it's fun. I like life because it's fun. Even in a tight spot, there's always some chance to know that you can be the best you can be." He smiled at the girl and added, "Come on. The cafe is down here. Let's talk for a bit."


	4. D Trailer

_Everyone has an animal inside them. Whether it's a little kitten that's harmless unless cornered, or the wolves that are in stories, everyone has one._

Thunder rumbled through the deep grey clouds that covered the sky as the wolf rested on his high perch in the oak tree. Moisture and humidity made the air feel thick and covered the Faunus' hands in a layer of sweat.

Andrew liked the feeling that the perch granted him. He felt detached. Away from the problems of the world. It was just him, alone in the tree with his thoughts.

But even the detachment that his favorite spot granted him couldn't keep back the edge of excitement that was burning his his chest.

All of his hard work, his dedication, his commitment, had finally gotten him where he had wanted to be for so long.

Beacon. He was finally going to Beacon academy. He was going to be a Huntsman. He'd passed the tests, overcome the obstacles, and pushed through the barriers that had stood in his way. He was going to be a Huntsman.

Thunder rumbled once again, sonorous and growing closer. It would be wise to go back to his dorm in order to avoid getting soaked.

Andrew adjusted his position and glanced down in order to gauge his jump down from the tree, and noticed that he wasn't alone anymore. A group of his fellow schoolmates had gathered below him while he had been lost in his thoughts. Their presence wasn't exactly encouraging. He'd run into these people many times, and it had never been good.

"Afternoon." Andrew drawled. "What brings you all out here?"

"We had an experiment we wanted to run." One of them replied. This brought on a laugh from his companions. Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of experiment?" He shot back.

"How well does lightning roast a washed out freak?" The student countered. Andrew's eyes narrowed. Two could play at this game.

"I wouldn't know." The wolf replied. "I guess it would be hard to figure out with you standing down there, now would it?" The student flushed with anger and a couple of his companions let out soft chuckles.

"You really think you're funny, don't you Lone Wolf?" The student asked. "You're so full of yourself that you think you're something more than just a trained animal."

The heat of excitement and pride that had been in Andrew's chest flared up, changing into burning hate. His tone changed as well, becoming deceptively neutral, but with an edge of frost to it.

"Excuse me?" He asked. The student didn't seem to notice the shift in Andrew's mood and continued.

"Oh, you didn't know? I was sure your old friend had drilled that into you, little puppy. You really think you're Huntsman material?" He let out a short laugh. "You're an attack dog. All you're really good for is-"

His sentence was cut off when Andrew's full, gravity assisted, weight slammed into the top of his head. The student's aura took the impact, but it didn't stop him from being knocked into the ground, where his consciousness was driven out of his body by the force delivered from the strike.

Andrew slowly rose to his feet and his body seemed to blur for an instant before he spoke.

"Don't. You. _Dare_. Call. Me. An. _Attack Dog_!" He snarled, clipping his words and not bothering to hide his fury. "Just for _ONCE_ I'd like to be looked at as something other than a weapon or a _pet_ to be used for someone else's aims." The Faunus took a short rod from his belt and it extended into a quarter staff with spiked ends. He twirled the staff, Fenrir's Fang, expertly in his hand and moved into a combat stance. "Avont, cowards!" He taunted. "Are you all bark and no bite?! If I'm not Huntsman material then why do you hang back?! Too scared to handle the _Lone Wolf_?" He said the last two words with distain in his voice. He despised the name he had been given, but it could be used to serve his purpose. He was going to knock these losers down to size.

The first student's companions stood there shocked for a half second before one of them readied his weapon and attacked, slashing his sword horizontally to slice into Andrew's face.

The blade of his weapon passed clean through Andrew's head and the Faunus seemed to vanish, only to be revealed standing a few inches behind where he had been standing previously.

Andrew counter attacked, swinging his staff around and slamming the weapon into the side of the student's head. Andrew continued the swing, using his own neck and his other hand as a fulcrum to swing the weapon around and block another strike coming from his right.

One of the other students attacked from his left and Andrew dropped to the ground to dodge, and also remained standing, turning his head in surprise at the attack. The student hesitated and the quarterstaff spun back and clubbed him in the head as well. The staff continued to spin and struck the attacker that was on his right. Both of them dropped to the ground in pain.

Another student ahead of him opened fire with his own weapon. Bullets whizzed past the Faunus and he spun Fenrir's Fang in front of him. The shaft of spinning metal deflected the rounds. Andrew backed up until his back came into contact with the old oak tree, then he spun around the tree, placing the trunk between himself and the student shooting at him.

A third of the staff collapsed back into itself and Andrew peeked around the tree, leveling the weapon and bracing it against his shoulder like it was a rifle. He pressed a button on the staff and he returned fire, forcing the student with the gun to start moving in order to avoid being shot.

Andrew heard swords being drawn and rotated, extending his staff to its full length again and blocking a pair of swords that had been swung at him.

The attacking student in question wore green armor and an extremely angry expression.

"Back off, Wolf." He said, pressing his attack hard into Andrew.

"Screw you, Darren." He growled. "You should've thought of this before you started things." Then he kicked the green knight in the stomach with enough force to make him stumble back, despite the armor he wore and Andrew pushed his advantage. He delivered a flurry of attacks, forcing Darren to act defensively.

Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw the student with the gun lining up his shot.

He dropped to the ground and swept Darren's legs out from under him. The knight fell to the ground with a heavy thud and Andrew rose in time to start deflecting more shots from the gunman.

The Faunus charged towards the gunman, deflecting more shots, before seeming to blur and multiply. The gunman suddenly saw what looked like a line of charging Andrew's doing a paper chain impression, each connected to the other. They all skidded to a halt and leveled their weapons, resembling a firing squad.

The student balked and dropped to the ground on complete reflex as the firing line opened fire. Bullets flew over the student, but only one bullet struck the ground behind him, knocking up a little puff of dirt.

There was a roar behind Andrew and two arcs of fire sliced through the firing line. The chain of Andrews vanished, except for one, who immediately turned around fired on Darren, who had gotten back onto his feet.

The knight deflected the rounds with his twin swords and charged the Faunus, who brought Fenrir's Fang back to full extension and parried the strikes from the knight's twin swords. Andrew backed up as he deflected the strikes, trying to find a way out of the jam he was getting deeper into.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and twisted his body around as he deflected another attack. Darren stumbled to the side and turned to attack Andrew again just as the gunman opened fire. The student with the gun had apparently changed rounds and clearly wasn't thinking enough about where he was shooting.

The bullets slammed into Darren's back. With each impact there was a small detonation and as the last round impacted with the knight's armor, Andrew caught the flash of the knight's aura bursting from the amount of damage it had received. Rage flooded into the knight's eyes and he swung both of his swords down in a powerful blow.

As Darren swung both of his swords down together, Andrew held his staff horizontally to parry the strike. The knight leaned forward, trying to use his superior weight to force Andrew down.

The wolf swung his head forward and head butted the knight, driving his skull hard into the human's nose. There was a loud crack and blood flowed from the human's nose as he recoiled in pain and outrage.

Andrew saw his opening and kicked Darren's legs out from under him, forcing the knight to collapse to the ground. The wolf didn't waste any time and leapt over the fallen human, swing his staff as he moved toward the last opponent standing.

Fenrir's Fang impacted with the gunman's temple and the student crumpled to the ground and Andrew stood over him, panting. He looked around at his fallen attackers and let out a snort of near contempt.

"Keep this in mind next time you go around sullying the hard work of others." He said to no one in particular. Fenrir's Fang collapsed back into itself and the Faunus hung the short rod on his belt.

He heard a groan and turned to see Darren struggling to regain his feet. Andrew walked over to him and held out his hand. The green armored swordsman slapped it away.

"Get away, Wolf." He said.

"Look." Andrew responded. "You don't like me, and I don't like you. But I just broke your nose and beat you up. The least I can do is help you out of the dirt and take you to get that looked at."

The knight didn't answer. Andrew felt annoyed but he kept control of his temper this time.

"Have it your way then." He said and looked around. At that moment it began to rain. The falling water started to cause the others to stir. Satisfied that they'd be able to get back to their dorms, Andrew turned and left for his own room.

"This isn't over!" The green knight called after him. "I'll make you pay! Sooner than you think!"

Andrew didn't even bother replying.


	5. Author's note

Salutations readers! (Yes, I just went there)

I just have a couple of things I'd like to say before the show gets moving.

First: Thank you very much to all of you who have spent the time to read my character trailers. I really hope that you've enjoyed them and that I've gotten your attention with them.

Second: For anyone who has read the previous posting of this story and who is still here, I would like to extend my thanks for your patience. I also owe you an apology for letting the original story flounder the way it did. Some stuff had come up, mostly school work, and then I wanted to do some reworking with what I had made, both on the site and off of it. The reason it took so long is because of a combination of writer's block and the fact that I am really really _really_ _ **really**_ bad at reworking material that I've already written down. My brain gets caught up in what's already there and it's a huge mental fight to let the old material go. I also pulled a _**HUGE**_ dumb when I wanted to start posting again, and forgot that I have the ability to simply update, delete, or replace already existing chapters. As a result, I deleted the original story rather than simply replacing what I wanted to post. My bad. I'm really really sorry. Please don't yell at me.

On that note, however, I am very happy to say that I have edited the original chapters and even managed to rewrite the ones I felt needed more than just a touch up. I've also stock piled a considerable amount of material, so hopefully I won't run into the same problem once again. I don't have a specific posting schedule yet, but I hope to have one very soon.

Some notes about the story itself.

My goal is to create a story with my OCs that will run parallel to the show. While team EMRD will be affected by and comment on the events that happen in RWBY, I don't want to change the events themselves. (Anyone who is up to date on what's been happening in RWBY will hopefully understand the problems I'm facing when I consider my long term story arc. I mean, how in the name of god can I compete with what has happened?)

I really hope that this will be an adventure for us all. I hope that you'll have fun, be surprised, and fall in love with these characters. I hope that you'll find the story as true to Monty's world as it can be with what I've cooked up for my characters to experience.

Once again, thank you all so much for the time you've given to read my trailers and I hope to high heaven that you've enjoyed them and that you'll enjoy the story as well.

Last second comments:

Please be aware that the seat belt and no smoking signs have been turned on.

Remember to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

The cake is a lie.

Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, like and subscribe.

Thank you again for your time! Hope you enjoy the story!


	6. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Andrew drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. He really couldn't believe where he was right now.

He was supposed to be heading to Beacon tomorrow morning and yet, here he was, sitting in a police station in downtown Vale. He had to give Darren credit. Retribution had come far sooner than he had expected, even if it was sub-par.

"This is the dumbest thing ever," he said to the two cops sitting in the room with him. "Why am I still here?"

"That's for us to know," The bearded officer said.

"And for you to find out," the other one added.

Andrew leaned forward and said, "It's not hard to figure out, guys. I beat up some guys who were antagonizing me. They had it coming and they'll live. I didn't even hit them that hard! Just enough to teach them a lesson."

"Eh, that's what you say," the bearded officer said. "But, eh, maybe there's more to it. Maybe you're thinking about doin' some other stuff."

"Yeah, some other stuff," the second cop repeated. "Stuff like, White Fang stuff."

"Those ears," the bearded officer said. "They're a bit of an attention grabber. Maybe you're thinking that they'll take you in if you prove yourself."

"Yeah prove yourself," the second cop said, "Like pickin' on some of your fellow students. Roughin' them up a little and then BOOM" He emphasized this with by slapping his hands together, "You're in there running with your new friends causin' all sorts of trouble."

"You know what I hate?" The bearded cop asked.

"Preserving oxygen?" Andrew asked in a bored voice.

"Trouble makers." The cop replied. "And you, my friend, are a trouble maker."

"We don't like trouble makers," The second cop said, "Cause it's our job to stop them. And we don't like it when trouble makers make things... troubling. So that's why we're here."

"So that you don't cause us trouble." The bearded cop finished.

"Are you finished? Cause I really need to go and pack."

"Runnin' off now that we're on your trail are ya?" The second cop asked. The bearded cop opened his mouth to add something but Andrew cut him off.

"No, I'd just like to get back to school and back to my life. That and I really can't stand you two any longer. So unless you have anything important to say I'll just be-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." A measured voice said. "But I would like a moment alone with the young man."

The bearded cop made a grunting sort of sound and he and his partner got up to leave. He spun around at the door and said, "We've got our eyes on you." and pointed at his eyes and then at Andrew.

"Oh, I'm so scared." The Faunus said, the bored sarcasm clear in his voice.

The officers left and an older man walked in with a coffee mug in one hand and a cane in the other. His hair was grey and he wore dark green jacket and pants with a green scarf under the jacket. He had a small pair of glasses perched on his nose and his eyes were a shade of brown that Andrew couldn't place.

"I apologize for that. Some of the police have a tendency to jump the gun."

"I take it you're not a cop." Andrew said as he shifted in his chair. The man had a powerful presence, like some of his instructors at school but, more so. Andrew sniffed and looked at the mug. "Is that hot chocolate?"

"Perceptive." The man said as he set the mug down and the cane aside before taking the seat in front of Andrew.

"I've got a good nose." Andrew said and his wolf's ear flicked as he spoke.

"A benefit of being a Faunus no doubt." The man said and sipped from his mug. "Though I imagine it can have drawbacks."

"If you're not careful, sure." Andrew said.

"And are you?" The man asked. Andrew paused. The way the guy asked the question was unusual. He decided to cut to the chase.

"I know you." Andrew said. "Why are you here, Professor Ozpin?"

"Believe it or not, I was here on other business. But when I hear that one of my new students was involved in an attack on some of his peers you can understand my concern."

"I was proving a point." Andrew said defensively.

"You were baited and you took it." Ozpin said.

"Do you think I was going to sit there and take it?"

"I expect you to handle yourself better. You're training to be a huntsman, Mr. Deneem. You need to keep your temper in check, especially in my school."

"But-"

"Not everyone will think like you do, Mr. Deneem. And while steps are being taken between our two races, what you do has an impact. Remember that."

Ozpin picked up his mug and cane and started to leave. "I'll see you around Beacon, Mr. Deneem. You're free to leave. The police won't bother you." He said as he left.

Andrew sat there in silence, fuming. What irritated him was that Ozpin was right. He had been baited and his reaction did matter. Those cops, while they might not be the brightest, had suspected him of wanting to join the White Fang because of what he had done to his classmates. He _didn't_ want to join the White Fang. He thought the White Fang was a group of idiots, but that wouldn't stop others from thinking otherwise.

"I'm out of the classroom and still getting lectures." Andrew said to himself before getting up and leaving the station.

On his way out he caught sight of a little girl with a bright red hood and cloak. He blinked, surprised at the touch of color. When he looked again the girl was gone.

It didn't take long for Andrew to pack his belongings. He had nowhere to return to and no family to speak of. Most of his belongings consisted of books, mostly school texts and guides, but there was the occasional novel. Then there was his weapon, Fenrir's Fang, as well as his father's old chess set. Considering the meagerness of his possessions it really wasn't a surprise that he got to the airship early. What was to his surprise, was that he was not the only who had arrived early.

There was a guy about his own age dressed in bright gold combat gear laying on a bench nearby looking completely at ease with himself. Andrew had to blink after a moment just because of how bright the gear was in the sunlight.

"Who in their right mind would wear something like that as combat gear?" He said to himself.

"A guy who couldn't care less what people thought about him." The gold clad teen said. Then he heaved himself into a sitting position and looked at Andrew. "I thought I was the only one who enjoyed being early."

Andrew now saw that the gold trend didn't end with the teen's clothes. He also had bright golden-blonde hair and a pair of white, curved horns coming out of his head. And now that the Faunus was sitting upright, Andrew got a better look at the boy's clothes.

The shirt was slightly loose, and made of what looked like a tough, leather-like material. Andrew could just make out the impression a scale design that was spread across the entire shirt, but the near blinding gold of the outfit rendered the design all but invisible to the eye. The boy's pants were similarly designed. Slightly loose, leather looking material with an almost imperceptible scale design spread all across the garment. The only exception was the boy's hiking boots, which only lacked the nearly invisible scale design of the rest of the outfit.

Andrew also noticed a black and gold mace hanging from the ram's side within easy reach of his arms. Not that the ram seemed likely to draw the weapon. He seemed to radiate an air of confidence and energy that was nearly contagious. Andrew suspected that a bomb could go off and this boy would be able to find the silver lining somewhere.

"Enjoying doesn't have anything to do with it." Andrew said. "I just didn't have a lot to pack."

"So why not sleep in?" The blonde replied. "Spend a little more time with your friends before heading here?"

"I don't have friends." Andrew said in a tone of voice that said: Don't stay on the subject. The other Faunus appeared to miss the point because he kept on talking.

"Not even one?"

"Nope." Andrew said grimly. He could already tell this guy was a talker.

"That stinks. No one from when you were a kid?"

"Just drop it, alright?" Andrew snapped, his ire rising quickly at the thick-headed Faunus. The teen finally seemed to get the message and fell silent. After a moment, however, he spoke again.

"Reg." He said.

"What?"

"For the next time you yell at me. Call me Reg. It's short for Reginald. Reginald Aurum."

Andrew nodded and stood there awkwardly for a moment before saying, "My name's Andrew." He lifted his bag and asked, "Is there anywhere I can put this?"

Reginald nodded his head to where there were some other bags were set aside for when the airship came. Andrew dropped his alongside others and kept to himself until other students started arriving. Not that long after came boarding and Andrew found himself wandering the airship. He wished he'd gotten his father's chess set out of his bag before putting it with the others.

"Well look who it is." A voice drawled behind him. Andrew turned around and recognized the owner of the voice immediately.

The speaker was human and stood a couple inches taller than Andrew and had dark green hair. The human wore green armor across his entire body and his twin swords were hung from his sides.

"Hello, Darren. How's your head?" Andrew said.

"It's been better. You broke my nose yesterday." Darren replied.

"It doesn't look too bad." Andrew said with false concern. " I can't even tell that it had been broken. Oh, and I enjoyed your follow-up performance last night. It was a nice touch for our relationship."

"That was nothing." Darren replied. "I will make sure you get what you deserve, Wolf. Keep those ears perked, 'cause I'll be waiting for the moment you slip." Darren turned and walked away.

Andrew took a long breath and kept a firm grip on his temper. He hadn't realized that Darren had been accepted to Beacon as well. Given how well he had trounced the guy, he was surprised that Darren had even been accepted. He was going to have to be careful.

He directed his attention to a nearby screen as a mellow tone came from it. A blonde woman was projected and she began to speak.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon." She said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of attending this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future huntsmen and huntresses it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." With an other mellow tone, Glynda's image disappeared.

Even his encounter with Darren couldn't shake the feeling of excitement that went through him with Goodwitch's speech. He was finally going to Beacon, where he could make a true difference for himself and the world. Where he could finally have purpose.

A blonde haired boy rushed past him, covering his mouth. Judging from the sounds he was making, it sounded like he was fighting back the urge to vomit.

 _Well, I guess people handle excitement differently._ Andrew thought. Things might start looking up.

 **Author's note: I based the hot chocolate comment on what Miles, Kerry, and Monty said in one of the commentaries on the volume 1 DVD. I remember that they weren't sure if it was hot chocolate or coffee and I personally thought that hot chocolate would be more interesting. If it has been confirmed to be different, I wouldn't mind a tip to that effect so that I can correct it. Hope you liked the first chapter! Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I've discovered a "problem" with having stock piled chapters. I have an overwhelming urge to keep posting them. Here's another one! :) This'll probably stop once the college realizes I still have free time and slams me with seven papers or something. Then things will hopefully follow a schedule. Until that time, however, I can keep posting more rapidly.**

 **Chapter 2**

It didn't take long for the airship to arrive at Beacon. Either that, or Andrew's excitement at the idea of attending helped the time go by faster. In any event, Andrew was soon disembarking from the ship and looking at what would be his home for the next four years.

Home. It was strange for him to call anywhere home, considering how he'd come to his previous school. Fragments of memories from his life before training flickered in his mind and the wolf stood there for a moment, remembering.

He shook his head to clear away the ghosts of the past. It was his purpose for being here after all. To move on. To change things. The past shouldn't have to haunt him now that he was doing something about it.

A sudden explosion nearby caused Andrew to jump and reach for _Fenrir's Fang_. It was unhooked from his belt and about to be extended when he heard a girl yell.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Andrew immediately recognized the girl who was yelling. She was Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the esteemed Schnee Dust Company of Atlas. Odd for the heiress to be so far from home.

"What's she doing here?" the Faunus asked himself. "Shouldn't she getting pampered in Atlas?"

"Maybe her father's worried about her ability to protect herself." A soft female voice said from beside Andrew.

He turned and saw a blonde girl that was about his own height. The girl's hair was done in a ponytail that fell between her shoulder blades and a pair of blonde cat ears were on the top of her head. She had an oval shaped face and light blue eyes.

The girl was wearing a light green dress that had cream colored details that complimented her hair. The combat skirt of the dress came to around the girl's knees and her cream colored stockings reached that point as well. She also wore gloves that reached her elbows and matched her stockings. She also wore an intricate metal belt wrapped around her wait.

The total outfit made Andrew think of a ballerina, and the girl was built like one. She had a body of lean muscle that denoted a life of physical exertion, but not one of hard combat. There were no scars on her and the girl gave off an aura of serenity. She didn't seem like much of a fighter.

"Pardon?" Andrew asked.

"Well, with the increase in White Fang activity and that Dust shop robbery in Vale, maybe Mr. Schnee is concerned that his little heiress might be in danger. Although, it looks to me more like that little red-headed girl is in danger right now."

Andrew looked back to the heiress and saw the girl who was the target of her wrath. It appeared to be a girl who was a little young to be at Beacon, maybe by a couple of years. She had short, dark hair that lightened into red is it reached the tips. She wore a type of black dress with a black corset and a combat skirt, which became red at the bottom, along with black stockings. Her boots were also black with red bottoms and detailing. She was also wearing a bright red cloak and the wolf could see the ends of a large weapon holstered at the small of her back.

"Do you think we should help her?" The blonde girl asked. "Weiss is really chewing her out."

"I think we're covered." Andrew said and nodded to another girl with ebony hair and a little black bow on her head that had just approached the heiress. The new girl wore an outfit composed of black and white and the heels of her boots clicked lightly on the ground as she approached the heiress. She also had a small bottle of powered Dust in her hand.

Andrew looked away from the group of girls as the blonde cat turned to face him and held out her hand.

"My name's Emily Virden. It's a pleasure."

"Andrew Deneem." Andrew replied simply, shaking her hand and feeling out of his element. There weren't many Faunus at his old school of Herald and girls were people he hadn't really been around much. There was always something that he had needed to do. Practice or studying and such. Of course, there had been _her_ , but that wasn't a specter he wanted to think about. He beat those memories away and focused on the girl that was with him right now.

Emily began walking towards the main building and asked, "Everything alright, Andrew?"

"Uh, yeah," he said quickly. "I'm not used to... personal stuff."

Emily giggled. "Do you need lessons or something? Surely you've had one friend."

"No." Andrew said bluntly and looked away. "I haven't." Emily's face fell.

"I'm sorry." She said and looked away. "I didn't mean to bring up anything uncomfortable."

"I don't want to talk about it." Andrew replied sullenly.

The two Faunus entered the huge hall where the other students were beginning to gather.

It didn't take long for more students to show up. Andrew's eyes roamed the hall, noting student's appearances, trying to find people he might recognize. Which was a fruitless venture, but at least he could start to know his competition. First impressions were important.

He quickly spotted golden blonde hair and thought he'd seen Reginald. On sheer reflex he started to look away until he realized that he had been mistaken. Reginald certainly didn't have hair that long. Or breasts. The girl he had initially confused for Reginald was speaking to the young girl in red that he had seen with the Schnee earlier.

"Doesn't she look a little young to be here?" Andrew asked Emily.

Emily looked the red-hooded girl up and down and said, "A little. But size isn't a judge of power. If she's here then she earned it."

"I wouldn't say everyone here deserves it." Andrew muttered.

"What makes you say that?" Emily asked.

Andrew shook his head and opened his mouth to tell her to forget it, but the sound of a microphone saved him from speaking.

"I'll… keep this brief." Professor Ozpin said from the stage. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. A need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will you prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin then turned and walked away and professor Goodwitch took his place at the microphone.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Andrew looked at Emily as Goodwitch left.

"Did he seem distant to you?" He asked.

"Yeah." The cat replied thoughtfully. "It was strange."

The two Faunus wandered out of the hall and Andrew spotted Reginald talking to a human girl in a maroon jean jacket that matched her short hair. She wore black pants and leather combat boots. The girl's arms were crossed and Andrew noted the maroon bracers that covered the girl's arms up to near her elbows. The human was barely over five feet high, giving Reginald almost a good foot in height over her and the wolf caught the hint of lean muscle rather than the hard, brick-like set of the ram. The girl's face was set in hard lines that were enough to broadcast her irritation.

"Be careful around the gold guy." Andrew told Emily. "He's a bit of a talker."

"What makes you think I'll have a problem with that?" The blonde replied with a smile.

Andrew paused to give that some thought. Before he could, though, something big and gold flew past him and into the wall nearby. There was a cracking sound as the gold object impacted with the solid stone and there was the faintest hint of spiderwebbing in the wall as the object slumped in a dazed heap to the ground.

"Reg!" Andrew exclaimed without thinking and went to check the gold clad Faunus.

"Did I get her, mom?" Reginald asked in a dazed voice. Andrew could almost see stars circling his head.

"Uuummm… no?" Andrew asked. He looked at Emily for help, but she wasn't looking at them. She was staring at the back of the maroon girl who was now walking away. Actually, stalking away might have been a better term but after that display, Andrew was willing to try the diplomatic description.

"She didn't even check to see if he was alive!" The blonde fumed. "What kind of person punches a fellow student into a wall and doesn't at least get a little concerned?"

"An irritated and skilled one." Andrew huffed, upgrading the small girl in his mind as he hauled the ram Faunus to his feet. "Can you give me a hand here? This guy isn't exactly a feather. He's more like a stack of bricks."

Emily helped Andrew get Reginald to his feet. The gold student was already shaking his head and coming back to reality. His eyes locked onto Emily and light returned to them.

"It's not every day I get helped out by a beautiful blonde." He said with a grin.

"Told you." Andrew told Emily. "A talker."

"Are you alright?" Emily asked, concern making her voice slightly softer.

"I am now. Thanks." Reginald said in a tone of voice that implied a lot more than he'd said.

"Please, stop that." The cat said, her voice immediately starting to lose the soft edge. She looked at Andrew and added, "I think I get what you were trying to say earlier."

Reginald raised his hands up and said in a normal tone, "Alright. At least you asked. The walking torpedo," he pointed in the direction of the maroonette. "Wasn't so kind."

"How did she even do that?" Andrew asked as he let go of Reginald, who wobbled slightly before straightening. "You're about twice her size. Not to mention you have almost a foot of height on her."

"Beats me. I was talking to her and then POW. I'm in the wall."

"Talking?" Emily asked sternly, putting a hand on her hip.

"And Ozpin lectured me on my temper." Andrew muttered as he stepped away from the two Faunus. Neither of them seemed to notice as Emily began berating Reginald. Things were moving just a little too rapidly for him. He needed some time alone. Why hadn't Ozpin just let them all choose rooms or something? He needed some space alone, something to do.

The wolf made his way towards the side of the school, where he caught sight of some tree branches. That would just have to do.

 **Author's note: Thank you all so much for continuing to read. I'd also like to extend a personal thanks to TorchPhilosopher for his review. I'm really happy that you've enjoyed what I have made so far. You mentioned in your review that it was nice to see reasonably powered OCs. I happy that you find them reasonable and I wish I could take complete credit for that. But, I did have help from a fantastic guy I met at RTX 2015, who was willing to sit with me for over an hour and talk shop with me. He directly helped me streamline a few of my characters, such as Andrew, and helped set up the ground work for streamlining others.  
Thank you all again for reading! Please drop a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story! Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Hey, another chapter! I do have to confess, however, that there was a personal reason for me posting this one today. I'll cover that later though. I'd like to give a shout out to Arlnoff for your review. I took what you said to heart and spent some time looking at this chapter's draft and improving it. I think I was able to pin down what the problem might have been and I hope this one reads more smoothly for you. I also noticed that the site removes my time jump markers when I upload a chapter. I hope that I've found the way to fix that, but there's only one way to find out. And now, on with the show!**

 **Chapter 3**

His refuge in the upper branches of a tall tree out by student dorms was perfect. It was high enough that he couldn't be immediately seen by people passing by, and yet low enough for him to comfortable about his odds of landing right should he fall out.

Andrew rather enjoyed heights. There was just something peaceful about a tall perch that he couldn't quite place. Maybe it had something to do with being a Faunus. Andrew really didn't care one way or the other. All he knew was that he was finally able to relax a bit and stay away from the crowds that were forming in the various parts of the grounds.

He stared up through the branches and leaves at the few pieces of sky that he could see.

The events of the last day had all seemed to blur together. He'd lost his temper back at his old school and had been called down to the police station as a kind of payback from his "victims". They really had been asking for it.

The insults he could take, he'd learned to deal with those years ago. He could take punches too. Years in the system had taught him that the biggest deterrent to bullies was to not give them even an inch. When they would insult him, he'd throw one back. If they swung at him, he'd swing back.

But they had brought up what _she_ had done to him. He could take insults. He could take punches. But what _she_ had done to him was unforgivable. It wasn't their right to bring it up, or to imply that it was somehow proper. That it was his place in life.

The rush of hate at even the thought was so strong, that the Faunus almost fell out of the tree and had to be sure of his perch for a moment. Once he had calmed down, he tried to get his thoughts back in order.

What had happened next? Next there was Ozpin's rather fortunate visit.

Andrew's brow furrowed. Why had he been there again? He'd said, "other business" but Andrew found it awfully convenient that Ozpin had been there at just the right moment to get him out of trouble.

The wolf shook his head. Maybe he was reading too much into the event. Ozpin was a huntsman after all. It wouldn't be very surprising to find that him visiting a police station.

What had really shaken him was Darren's appearance on the airship to Beacon. The knight hadn't given any indication that he'd also been accepted to Beacon. Which was a surprising amount of subtly from the guy.

Granted, he'd been one of the last ones to fall in their tussle, but Andrew wouldn't have pinned him on being accepted as well. Was possible that the knight had been holding back? There didn't seem to be any advantage or purpose in doing so. Maybe it was a backup idea that Darren had set up if the attempt to have him arrested failed. That still sounded too forward thinking for Darren, but it was a thought.

Andrew tucked that thought away for later and checked the sky again to figure out the time. He could've checked his scroll but he didn't want to move unless he had to.

Apparently more time had passed than he had thought. The sun was starting to drop west. He must've spaced out while in his reverie about the last day. The Faunus hopped off of the branch and almost landed on the maroon girl who had punched out Reginald earlier.

"Look out!" He yelled as he fell, unable to stop his descent.

The short girl reacted far faster than Andrew thought possible, leaping into a roll that brought her to safety before Andrew even touched the ground.

"Watch it." She said with an edge in her voice as she stood up.

"Sorry." Andrew said, his voice adopting a similar tone out of sheer reflex as he dusted off his pants. "I didn't see you there." He saw her eyes move to his ears and added. "Honest. I thought I was alone. I wasn't trying to kill you or anything."

"Why would you say that?" The maroon girl asked. Her tone was odd, like she was forcing herself to be diplomatic. Andrew rolled his eyes.

"Maybe it was a bad attempt at a joke." The Faunus said, his tone clearly showing the false sincerity in his statement. "Or maybe it was because your eyes flicked to my ears after I spoke, demonstrating your distrust of my statement because of what I am." The girl's eyes narrowed and, just for an instant, an odd emotion flashed across her face. Andrew also noticed the girl's hands clench into fists.

"You presume an awful lot." The girl said. She was clearly fighting to keep her tone neutral and reveal nothing. Andrew shrugged.

"Maybe I am." He said. "And maybe I'm not. But I've only got what I see to work with. Unless you'd like to contribute something new to the conversation?" The girl's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists tighter. She didn't answer. Instead, she turned and walked away, her steps emphasized as she walked away. Andrew stood there and tried to reign in his temper.

What was this girl's problem with him? It wasn't like he'd done something to her. It was aggravating how people would look at his ears and immediately make assumptions about him.

Ozpin had told him that he needed to be mindful of his actions, to watch his temper. Had it occurred to the old man that his words should've been spread to some of his human students?

The wolf let out an aggravated breath and then began making his way toward the ballroom that they were supposed to be sleeping in tonight.

* * *

Andrew looked up from the chessboard when he heard a sleeping bag and heavy body thump onto the ground next to him. The array of black and white pieces shifted slightly on the wooden game board and one or two of them even shifted onto new squares.

"Mind if I sleep here?" Reginald asked with his usual grin as Andrew corrected the pieces that had been shifted.

"Yes." Andrew said simply and looked back to his chess game. He moved a white pawn as Reginald ignored him and adjusted his position on the sleeping bag next to Andrew.

"Who's winning?" The ram asked. The wolf sighed. The golden haired Faunus just would _not_ take a hint. Since shoving him away verbally didn't seem to be doing the trick, maybe answering his question would.

"You never truly know in chess." Andrew said as he moved a black knight. "It's a game of strategy, not tactics."

"Come again?"

"Tactics are the plans made during battles." The wolf explained. "A strategy is a plan made for a war. One's short term while the other is long term. Technically speaking, strategy is composed of tactics and logistics, but chess only covers the combat theory in strategy." Reginald nodded in understanding and seemed to mull the information over in his mind. After a moment Andrew's patience ran out and he spoke again.

"Are you going to tell me why you're bothering me again or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Reginald raised his eyebrows.

"I figured it was obvious. You said that you don't have any friends, and I'm looking to fix that."

"I think I'll survive without you following me around." Andrew replied and moved a white rook. "I've been doing this sort of thing for a long time." Reg gave Andrew a calculating look that seemed rather out of place on the ram.

"20 lien says you're wrong." He said. Andrew picked up a black bishop and looked at Reginald.

"Tell me you're joking."

"I'm dead serious." Reginald said with a gleam in his eye. "I'll bet you hard, cold cash that by this time tomorrow, you won't be able to get by without me." He picked up a discarded white knight as Andrew set down the bishop.

The wolf then looked at Reginald and asked, "And if I win?"

"I'm out 20 lien and I'll never bother you again." Reginald said without a second of hesitation. "Deal?" Some part of Andrew's brain screamed at him that opportunities like this one rarely come twice.

"If it gets you to stop bothering me, then fine."

Reginald grinned and moved a white pawn diagonally, taking out a piece and bringing it to the end of the board. He replaced it with the knight he was holding before standing up and saying, "Checkmate, friend." He flicked the black king onto its side before getting up and walking off.

Andrew stared at the board and then at Reginald's back. Something that felt like a heavy and cold rock settled in Andrew's stomach as he watched the Faunus walk off. He had the sinking sensation that he and just been outmaneuvered. He'd been played. It was not a feeling he enjoyed. It had happened once before. And with disastrous consequences.

"OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!" Several people yelled at the exact same time and Andrew jumped at the sudden noise. Looking for the source of the commotion he spotted a group of girls by one of the walls.

He recognized the Schnee immediately and then he noticed who was around the heiress. There was the blonde and the red-head he had seen before Ozpin's speech and the ebony haired girl he had seen in the courtyard.

Thoughtful lines appeared on the wolf's forehead at the sight of the bow that the ebony haired girl was still wearing.

"Who wears a bow to sleep?" He asked himself. The girl in question picked up the candle near her and blew out the flame, bringing the area around her into more darkness.

He kept his eye on the girl as she moved with extreme ease in the low light. As he watched her, he heard a carrying whimper and looked around for the source of the disturbance.

After a moment he spotted the maroon haired girl he'd spoken to earlier and Emily. The blonde cat had her arm around the maroon girl, who let out another carrying whimper in her sleep before seeming to calm down as the cat gently shushed her. A boy nearby gave the pair an amused look and Emily shot back gimlet stare that would've made an Ursa run for the hills. The boy blanched and quickly moved to a new sleeping bag further away from the girls.

Andrew started to rise, but decided against it. He doubted he could do anything to help, in any event. Then he checked himself. Why should he care about the maroonette anyway? She hadn't seemed awfully considerate when they had spoken under the tree. He cleared up his chessboard and laid down on his back.

He couldn't help but ponder what he had gotten himself into as he fell asleep. Beacon certainly was turing out to be interesting, to say the absolute least, and he had only been here most of a day. If the trend continued, initiation was certainly going to be an experience.

 **Author's note: So, yeah, I mentioned earlier that there was a personal reason I wanted to post this chapter today. I started posting the original draft of this story about a year ago. With the way that my post schedule was running, this was the chapter that was supposed to come out the week that I got the news that Monty had passed away. As a kind of homage to him, I posted this chapter the day I heard the news, which was two days ahead of schedule. What is most surprising, is that this chapter connects to that event in a startling way. This chapter demonstrates a key trait in Marie's character. Nightmares. What's startling, is that Marie very well could've been suffering because of Monty's passing as well as because of what she was dreaming, and I had written that chapter months before I was willing to start posting my story. I don't know if any of you believe in fate, or God, or whatever, but that much being simply coincidence strikes me as extremely unlikely. That's why I wanted to post this chapter today, on the day that RWBY volume 3 enters its finale. It just seems right to me. I hope Monty is looking down at us all from Heaven, happy to see his work continued and to see all of us creating something.  
Until next time, everyone.**


	9. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Hey! We've got a brand new chapter! Believe it or not, this used to be my shortest chapter. Extensive reworking has made it so much better than the original, and, consequently, about twice as long. That also makes this about as long as my other chapters, so yipee! I'd also like to take this moment to say thank you TorchPhilosopher for your help in making Andrew's combat gear. It's _so_ much better than my original design. It's not everything you suggested, but a lot of the outfit does go to you. He also pointed out that I hadn't really done a good job of pointing out certain features on Andrew, like his hair color, and I made a point to at least mention those traits. I hope I got them all. And now, on with the show!**

 **Chapter 4**

There's a special moment that exists in the twilight before waking. It's in that moment, that anything is possible within someone's mind. In the unknown realm between dreams and reality, ideas can crystallize, confusion can become fact, and the world is both completely mutable and as solid and unyielding as the laws of physics. Worlds are created and destroyed in that twilight, that vague realm that can only be experienced briefly, and when someone's mind is left open and vulnerable in sleep.

That moment, that peaceful, thoughtful, world producing moment was completely and utterly shattered by the loud and peppy cry of, "Wake up, lazy bud!"

Andrew let out an actual wolfish growl of aggravation into his pillow. Murder entered the Faunus' mind as he listened to the loud, hyperactively happy voice say, "It's morning" over and over again in an increasingly sing-songy tone.

Andrew was normally one of those people who could get his mental engine running fairly quickly once he woke up. Anyone who'd known anything about him at Herald could've testified in court that on a normal day, given five minutes, he could get his head into the game while other people still were waiting for their coffee to brew. In a potential surprise attack situation, witnesses claimed that he had leapt awake and gotten into a combat position faster than a blink of an eye.

Granted, the claims that had been made after that situation had probably been exaggerated by fear and adrenaline and his own reputation as a highly skilled fighter. The end result was a lot of surprised fellow students, an amusing video that had nearly gone viral, and the notion that trying immature pranks on him in his sleep was a really bad idea.

But all of the mental fortitude in Remnant can't stop the weariness that occurs the morning after a big day of change.

A part of Andrew's mind _really_ didn't want him to get up. Another part _absolutely_ wanted to wake up and get started on the challenges that would be in his way of becoming a Huntsman. And a third part was really annoyed at the girl that was buzzing around at what sounded like Mach 2, without the sonic boom that usually accompanied such speed, and singing about the fact that it was morning.

Andrew scowled and forced his brain to get in proper working order. Once that was settled he got up into a sitting position and checked the ballroom. Everyone's states of being were varied. There were some students who had already gotten up, dressed, and left. There were some getting dressed or getting their respective sleeping areas cleared up. Some were still, somehow, asleep and there were others who were awake but pretending to be asleep for some reason or another.

Andrew got to his feet and rolled up the sleeping bag that had been provided, returning it to a pile that some of the students who had awakened earlier had started. The girl who unintentionally awakened him was rambling on around a boy with black hair with a single streak of pink.

The wolf made his way towards the bathrooms, hoping to get away from the noise. He ended up trading once annoyance for another.

The instant he entered the bathroom he saw something that got his brain working at full speed, and severely annoyed him.

Reginald was standing in front of one of the sinks, brushing his teeth. The ram was using his toothbrush with one hand, and with the other he was holding Andrew's toothbrush, toothpaste spread liberally along the bristles. Andrew met Reginald's eyes in the mirror and gave him a gimlet stare.

"How," Andrew asked, in a far calmer voice than he'd expected. "Did you get my toothbrush?"

Reginald had enough sense to recognize something in Andrew's eyes. He looked sheepish for a moment and his grip on Andrew's toothbrush became more wary, as if he was carrying an explosive rather than an instrument of dental hygiene.

"I'm... good?" He said, his voice rising as he finished the sentence, turning the statement into a question. He had about five seconds to sneak in a smile before Andrew's fist impacted with the ram's lower jaw.

Reginald fell over in pain and Andrew calmly snatched his spiraling toothbrush out of the air. He turned on the water in the sink and flicked his toothbrush under the stream of water for a moment to get the brush slightly wet. Then he turned off the water and proceeded to brush his teeth. The blonde Faunus got up into a sitting position, his hand gingerly touching his jaw.

"Ow." He said. "What'd you slug me for?" Andrew didn't bother to look at him as he spoke around the toothbrush.

"For going through my stuff." He said.

"I was trying to be helpful." Reginald responded.

"Yeah, well, go be helpful to someone else."

"Couldn't you at least say: 'Wow, Reg. Thank you so much for taking the effort to find my toothbrush and wait for you to get up and come to the bathroom so that I could brush my teeth?'"

"Nope." Andrew said bluntly and continued with his task.

"You are no fun." Reginald said as he got to his feet. He took a look in the mirror adjacent to the one Andrew was using and smiled wide. "On the bright side, I don't think my teeth have ever been this white in my life. I feel like I could blind someone with a smile." A wicked light appeared in the ram's eye and he turned his head to face Andrew and gave him a wide grin.

Andrew's punch got him squarely in the chin, which was disappointing because he'd been hoping to hit Reginald's reputably blinding white teeth. It might've had something to do with the fact that Andrew hadn't been looking at Reginald when he'd punched the second time. Granted, he hadn't been particularly picky about his target either.

Reginald took the punch rather well. He'd moved with the blow, reducing how much damage it could've done and kept his feet. His grin had only grown during the exchange.

"I'll see you later, Boss." He said genially and left the bathroom.

"Maybe I can finally have some peace." Andrew grumbled. As if waiting for the cue, the bathroom door opened and hyperactive girl and the boy she had been talking to entered the bathroom. The girl had not stopped talking and hadn't appeared to draw breath from what Andrew could see. He let out a sigh and finished his bathroom routine as quickly as possible before making his way to his things and getting into his normal clothes.

Andrew's combat gear consisted of a pair of dark, heavy ankle boots with a pair of buckled straps running around them, dark cargo pants with lots of pockets. His belt was styled in the same manner as his boot straps and had a couple of small cases for storing bullets and other odds and ends as well as a loop for him to hang _Fenrir's Fang_ on. He also wore a denim blue shirt, that matched the color of his hair, over which he added a light but durable windbreaker of a light grey hue that matched his wolf's ears. The back of the windbreaker also sported his emblem, the head of wolf raising its head to howl. Yet another inspiration for his assigned title at Herald. _She_ certainly covered her bases when she left. The last detail was a pair of fingerless black leather gloves which had a weave of metal built over his knuckles to give any necessary punches a little more power.

With that finished, Andrew made his way to the academy's lunch hall. He entered through the front door and saw that his luck must've still been sleeping in the ballroom. Reginald stood there holding a tray of food in each hand.

"I hope you like pancakes." He said with another smile. Andrew drove his knee into Reginald's nether region without breaking his stride and snatched the two trays before they hit the floor. The trays had enough food on them to make them actually have some heft and Andrew had to give the blonde a little credit. He had to be strong.

Reginald dropped to the floor and lifted his hand up in an over dramatic gesture of pain and weakness.

"Whyyyy?" He asked in a weak voice, drawing out the word. Andrew didn't answer and left the ram on the floor as he searched for a table.

The wolf was lucky enough to find one that was sparsely populated and sat away from everyone and began to eat. As he ate the admittedly good food, he thought about the rumors that he'd heard.

The rumors that had been flying between the new students had been about the assignment of teams. If the rumors were true, then it would certainly prove to be problematic. Andrew had always been a bit of a loner. He hadn't socialized much at Herald to begin with, and after what _she_ had done it had only gotten worse.

As much as he hated the stigma that had been set against him, the name he'd been given, The Lone Wolf, was not entirely untrue. He'd always done well on his own, sometimes better. Someone else might hold him back.

Then again, maybe being in a team would do him some good. Optimally, his team mates would be as good as he was in a fight and people he could trust. Then again, that was the _optimal_ situation. In his experience, things rarely turned out optimally.

But how would teams be determined? He doubted that Professor Ozpin would simply let everyone pick their own teammates. That would leave too many holes and cause trouble for loners like himself. It would also open debates on who would be in charge.

A tray clattered down next to him and the blue haired wolf put his head on the table. This was getting old. Maybe that was Reginald's plan. To wear him out until he just gave up. Well, he was just a little too stubborn for that.

"Go away, Reginald." Andrew said. "Before I slug you again."

"That's... really charming." A feminine voice replied. "But I recommend you look up before you take a swing." Surprised, Andrew lifted his head and saw Emily standing there. He felt a quick flash of heat as he spoke in reply.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. Reginald, the gold guy from yesterday, won't stop harassing me. You can sit here if you want." Heck, anyone other than Reg at this point. The blonde cat smiled as she sat down and took a sip of her milk before getting into her own food.

"Any particular reason he's been bugging you?" Emily asked between bites. Andrew let out an annoyed breath.

"I think it has something to do with a bet I made with him last night. I"m pretty sure he's going to do anything he can to win." Emily laughed.

"What was the bet?" She asked, giggling.

"He bet 20 lien that I wouldn't be able to get by without him by tonight." Andrew answered.

"Well then, I wish you luck." Emily said and lifted her glass to him. After a moment she asked, "Have you heard the rumors?"

"About teams? Yeah."

"Do you think they're true?" Andrew tapped his fork against his plate For a moment before replying.

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I think there's more to it." He pointed his fork at Emily's plate. "Is that bacon?"

Emily passed the meat over and took one of the pancakes from the extra plate that had presumably been for Reginald before Andrew had acquired it.

"What do you mean, 'you think there's more to it'?" She asked.

"I doubt that Professor Ozpin will just let us choose our teammates. It would fall apart pretty quickly. Teams made of friends might not balance out well and teams of strangers would be further behind them in cooperation."

"So what do you think is going to happen?"

"I have no idea. But whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it will level out the playing field."

Emily suddenly stood up and yelled, "Marie! Over here!"

Andrew followed her gaze and spotted the maroon girl from the day before. The girl, now named Marie, hesitated and looked at a clock mounted on the wall. Then she looked at Emily and shook her head before leaving.

Andrew looked at his scroll and realized what she had meant.

"She's probably heading to the locker room to get ready. We should probably be doing the same."

"Yeah," Emily replied and rose. Andrew followed her example and the two Faunus left for the locker room.

 **Author's note: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I got a chance to show off some of Reginald's sparkling personality, which was a lot of fun. I swear he actually spoke to me about the whole thing with the smiling because it just popped into my head from nowhere. Anyway, don't forget to favorite and follow and leave a review. It's a great feeling to know that people are enjoying my story. Next time: We have some final pre-initiation stuff and then we get the big event itself!  
Until next time! Ciao!  
**


	10. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hey! A brand new chapter! Yay!**

 **Chapter 5**

Andrew looked down the sight of _Fenrir's Fang_ and lowered it after being sure it was correct. He brought it to fullest extension and twirled it around in his hand, making sure the weapon was balanced. He had no idea what to expect in the forest and the last thing he wanted was for his staff to be in poor repair.

The staff was a blur of blue as it twirled in his hand. The weapon's balance was perfect.

The wolf felt a presence behind him and he spun around and held the weapon horizontally, blocking the sword that was being swung at him from behind. The sword was held by a boy wearing green armor.

Darren gave Andrew a half smile and said, "Better hope those reflexes are good enough for the woods. Then again, I guess you'd know a thing or two about trees, wouldn't you?" As tempting as it was to take the bait, Andrew managed to fight back his temper, albeit barely.

"I'm touched you care, Darren." He said. "If you keep this attitude up we might even end up being partners." The Faunus gave Darren a small smile. "That'd be ironic, wouldn't it? The two of us working side-by-side. After we've been together for so long." Darren huffed out a breath and pulled his sword back, sliding it into its scabbard.

"I don't need a pet, Lone Wolf. You'd only slow me down anyway."

"I don't think the cops got that impression." Andrew replied. "You should probably call them again and let them know you don't need them to clear up your messes."

The human's face twisted in anger and he reached for his weapon once again. A small hand suddenly reached out from behind him and grabbed the knight's arm, forcibly restraining the limb.

"I suggest you save that for the Grimm." A girl's voice said with simple authority. "They deserve it far more than any of us do."

"Get out of here girl or I'll-" Darren let out a grunt of pain when the girl's hand began to glow grey and tightened. The fact that Darren was wearing plate armor didn't seem to matter. There was the sound of metal being lightly crushed as the hand's grip grew more firm. Darren tore his hand out of the hand's grip and stormed away, glaring at Andrew as he passed. The wolf looked at his savior and saw the maroon haired girl, Marie, looking at him.

"Thanks." he said simply.

"You shouldn't have antagonized him." She said her voice never losing the tone of simple authority she had used when speaking to the knight. "You were only giving him an excuse to lash out."

"He was trying to do the same." Andrew said defensively.

"And does that give you the right to encourage it?" Marie asked harshly, the maroon bracers clanking as she crossed her arms. "It's things like that that get innocents hurt."

"There's no way that-" Andrew started to say but Marie cut him off.

"You'd have pushed each other until one of you broke and then everyone here might've gotten involved or hurt. Then you'd have blamed the other for the problem. Tell me, what does that solve?" Andrew looked away, but Marie wasn't finished. "And of all times you two chose to do this just before initiation? Where has your common sense gone?"

Andrew didn't answer, shame and anger clearly portrayed on his face. Marie gave a nod and walked past him without another word.

The wolf took a deep breath and tried to get his thoughts in order. He was having trouble so he clenched his hands into fists, trying to give the anger an outlet. Why was he always the one getting lectured, despite the fact that Darren instigated so much.

It wasn't fair. Darren had started the mess, but he wasn't the one getting the lecture. He closed his eyes, started to take deep breaths, and brought the image of his father's chess board to his mind. He began moving the pieces in his thoughts, relying on the completely rational structure of the game to put his thoughts in order. There was no room for emotion within chess. There was no luck, only skill.

The mental game helped Andrew bring his temper into check. As each piece was placed for logical reasons, his temper bled away. After a few moments, he was back in control.

Andrew let out one last breath and opened his eyes. Then his brow furrowed in thought. He'd never tried using his hobby to keep himself in check before. It was surprisingly effective. That was worth keeping in mind for later.

He followed Darren and Marie's steps and started to head towards the cliff from the locker room. He came to a dead stop, however, when he saw some more of his class mates. He recognized two of them.

The first was Weiss Schnee, who he recognized form the previous day. The heiress stood out obviously with her bright white hair and high-and-mighty bearing. What had caused Andrew to stop was the girl who was standing next to Weiss.

It was _Pyrrha Nikos_ , a world renown fighter. The red haired celebrity warrior was standing next to Weiss and before a blonde haired boy in rather basic armor. The boy didn't look like much and also appeared to be completely clueless about who he was standing in front of.

Andrew's mind reeled at the possibilities this presented. Pyrrha Nikos was the invincible girl. She would be an incredible partner to practice with or someone just to simply watch.

He shook himself and continued walking. He passed them, and briefly listened to the Schnee girl lecturing the blonde boy on who he was speaking to.

Andrew was rather amazed that such a lecture was even necessary. How could anyone not know of Pyrrha Nikos? She was only on the front of freaking breakfast cereal.

Thoughts on the celebrity were driven from his mind when professor Goodwitch's voice came over the intercom.

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon cliff immediately."

Andrew set his shoulders and left the locker room ready to see what Beacon's first test would be like.

* * *

The cliff overlooked the Emerald Forest, a location that lived up to its name. The trees stretched as far as he could see and the hue of the leaves reminded him of the gem that the forest was named after.

There were metal plates placed at regular intervals along the cliff and students were standing on them, waiting for their instructions, as directed by professor Goodwitch.

Andrew found an empty plate next to a boy with brown hair that made Andrew think of a bird's nest. He wore brown leather armor that reminded Andrew of some pictures he'd seen in a game book a kid at Herald used to play with his friends. It had been called… Dragons and Dungeons or something to that effect. The boy also had a pair of tomahawks hanging from his belt.

The bird's nest haired kid turned his head and regarded Andrew with an expression that looked like he had been forced to swallow something unpleasant.

"I can't get a break, can I?" Andrew muttered and looked down the row of new students in order to gauge his competition. He felt the color drain from his face when he spotted a face he thought he'd never see again.

It just wasn't possible. He had publicly humiliated her and she'd moved to Mistral rather than deal with the social repercussions. What was she even doing here?

Professor Ozpin's voice broke his line of thought and the Faunus looked to the headmaster.

"For years you have trained to become warriors. And today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

So it was going to be a trial by fire. Not too surprising. They probably wanted to get a good idea of the level of training everyone had. Professor Goodwitch picked up where Ozpin left off.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." She said. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

There was at least one moan of disappointment before professor Ozpin spoke again. Andrew sympathized with student. He had almost always done well on his own.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

So they were going to let them choose after all? But that didn't make any sense. There couldn't have been that many groups of friends here. And then there were the people like himself who didn't really have anyone they could readily partner up with. And if that was the case, why was it being brought up on the top of a freaking cliff?

"That being said," professor Ozpin continued, "the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

The penny dropped. Andrew had to give Ozpin credit. It was a brilliant way to set up the whole scenario. To force people to work together in a hostile environment honestly hadn't even occurred to him.

A girl yelled out: "What?!" in a surprised and almost shrill voice. Professor Ozpin continued as if nothing had happened and before Andrew could identify who had shouted.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die."

That changed things. Unlike at Herald or any other combat school, the danger was completely real. Andrew wondered how many initiates wouldn't come back. Even jerks like Darren didn't deserve death at the claws of _those_ things. The absolute calm manner that Ozpin spoke in didn't make the unease any easier.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene." Ozpin continued. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Andrew was convinced he was kidding, but the blonde boy he had seen with Pyrrha Nikos and the Schnee rose his hand like a school kid.

"Yeah. Um, sir-"

"Good." Ozpin interrupted. "Now, take your positions."

Andrew bent forward and brought his hand to his side, near the collapsed quarterstaff hanging from his belt. He adjusted his booted legs to be better suited for take-off. The landing was certainly going to be interesting.

Students began to be catapulted off of the cliff. Andrew closed his eyes and tried to envision what he needed to do. This was made harder by the blonde boy who insisted upon asking his question.

While part of his mind started envisioning landing situations, another part gave the blonde boy a mental pat on the back. If that kid didn't wise up fast, he would end up getting killed.

Andrew brushed away the thought as his pad clicked and launched him into the air and towards his first test to becoming a Huntsman.

 **Author's Note: Up next is initiation! It's worth noting that I don't think I do combat extremely well, but I'm told that I'm actually not too bad. I feel kinda odd because I have nothing to talk about. Please read a review, I really enjoy hearing from you all. Don't forget to favorite and follow! Until next time! Ciao!**


	11. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hurray! A new chapter! Sorry that this took a while. School work, life, the universe, everything. 42, guys. 42. So, here we are at last. Initiation has officially begun. Let the show go on!**

 **Chapter 6**

Wind rushed past Andrew's ears as he fell towards the Emerald forest. The wolf squinted his eyes slightly to keep the wind from causing them to sting. He saw his fellow students falling through the air around, some already employing attempts to slow their fast decent.

He caught sight of the Schnee hopping from rings that appeared under her feet, her decent becoming controlled and gradually slowing with each hop.

On his other side, he saw Reginald in his bright gold combat gear falling through the air backwards with his hands behind his head as if he was simply resting on a couch instead of falling toward a collection of extremely sturdy and unyielding trees.

"Show off," Andrew muttered to himself as he fell closer to the trees. The sound of the wind was so loud that he could barely hear his own voice.

Off to his right he heard a girl cry out: "Birdie, no!" Before he could look for the source of the shout, he plunged past the canopy of the trees.

The Faunus pulled the collapsed rod of _Fenrir's Fang_ from his belt and held it in front of him like a handle bar. As he passed between the trunk of two trees he extended the quarterstaff. The spike and bayonet on the ends of the weapon dug into the trunks of the two trees and held fast.

The remainder of Andrew's momentum sent him swinging around the weapon like it was a trapeze. He continued spinning around the staff until he eventually slowed to a stop and was left hanging between the two trees.

Andrew kept his grip on the weapon as he fought back the dizziness that fell on him. After a moment, the wolf's head cleared and he looked down to gauge his fall.

The glowing read eyes of a beowolf met his own and the Faunus and Grimm simply stared at each other.

"Hi." Andrew said. "I need a cushion." Then he retracted the ends of _Fenrir's Fang_ and he dropped to the ground. His boots slammed into the head of the Grimm with a satisfying amount of force.

The beowolf let out a yip and its head slammed into the ground. Vapor began to rise as Andrew walked over its corpse and further into the forest.

"Find a partner and get a relic form the abandoned temple north of here." Andrew said to himself. "Shouldn't be too hard." He set off through the trees, moving without making a sound.

His yellow eyes moved from left to right, keeping an eye out for any movement, his grey wolf's ears perked for any sound. Goal number one, find a partner. Preferably a partner that he would be able to get along with. That didn't seem overly likely, given the what he'd seen of his fellow first years.

Darren had never liked him at Herald, and Andrew doubted that becoming partners would only make their relationship more frosty. The wolf suspected that Darren wasn't much of a fan of Faunus, for whatever stupid reason the knight had.

Andrew ducked under a branch and continued running through his options.

The kid with the bird's nest hair had Andrew about as much confidence as Darren did. The look the kid had given him on the cliff was proof enough of that. It was hard not to have mutual feelings.

And he was never going to be _her_ partner, no matter what Ozpin said. He'd rather leave than be stuck with her. For a dark moment, Andrew considered the thought of violence if it came to it, but he shook it away. That'd just mean she had won after all. He wasn't going to let that happen. There were other schools if the situation came up.

Some of the brush nearby rustled and Andrew hefted _Fenrir's Fang_ , one part of the weapon extending, making the rod into a bayonetted rifle. He tracked a slight movement in the bush and fired a quick, precise shot.

The bullet met its mark and there was a howl. A beowolf leapt out of the shrub. It didn't take another step before a second bullet impacted with one of its glowing red eyes. The Grimm stumbled and fell to the ground, its body already starting to dissolve. Andrew lowered the blue staff and continued his trek north.

Marie was an it-depends option. She had stopped Darren from antagonizing him, but had lectured him immediately there after. There was also that moment in front of the tree from the other day. She had some kind of resentment of misgivings about Faunus, he was sure of that. Probably not the best choice.

The same logic applied to the Schnee. He doubted working with the heiress would be pleasant if she was anything like her father. It was well known that the family was not particular fond of Faunus, whether they were member of the White Fang or not. No, she wasn't a choice.

Pyrrha Nikos wasn't a bad choice though. The invincible girl. A legend of his generation. Four time sequential winner of Mistral regional tournament. Now there was a huntress waiting to happen. Andrew trusted his instincts about the red head.

Emily Virden wasn't a bad choice either. She had shown him empathy and trust from the beginning and there wasn't any kind of animosity between them. She could work as well.

Another rustle brought Andrew out of his thoughts. He fully extended his staff and focused his senses, slowly moving his eyes and keeping his ears keyed to any movement. There was nothing that his senses could detect. His instincts, however, were telling him that he was being watched.

The Faunus slowly began to move, his booted feet not making any sound as he walked. He waited for his moment.

There was a movement behind him and Andrew suddenly whirled, his staff lashing out against the incoming attacker. _Fenrir's Fang_ struck the beowolf squarely in the snout and the hound was knocked aside. The Grimm landed on its feet and roared at the Faunus in rage.

It bounded forward and slashed at Andrew with its claws. The Faunus parried the strike with one end of his staff before attacking with the other end. He struck the monster in the head again and it retreated a couple paces.

Andrew spun the staff and got into a new stance, waiting for the Grimm's next strike. The beowolf let out a growl and reared up.

Off to Andrew's left there was a hail of gun fire and a controlled volley of bullets tore through the Grimm in front of him.

The Grimm let out a sound before falling to the ground, its remains starting to dissolve.

Andrew looked to the source of the gunfire as Reginald stepped out of the brush, hefting a black and gold tommy gun in his hands.

"And that's twenty lien to moi." The ram said with an appalling attempt at being noncommittal. "You can pay me at your earliest convenience." Andrew rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't count." He said. "I could've taken him easily." Reg shrugged.

"Probably. But you didn't. I did, and saved you time and energy too. I also took care of his buddy while you having fun." The ram nodded his head to the side, indicating another dissolving beowolf. Andrew shook his head.

"I could've taken him too. It'll take more than a couple of beowolves to take me down. Or to convince me to pay you anything." Reginald raised an eyebrow good-naturedly.

"I'm starting to wonder if you even have twenty lien to give me." He waved a hand dismissively. "We can argue about it later, partner." Andrew raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright. Checkmate. I'm still not paying you." Reginald bowed with a smile and waved a hand toward a path.

"I believe we have a relic to collect." He said. The two Faunus set off down the path and Andrew had to admit to himself, that his partner could probably have been a lot worse.

* * *

Emily weaved through the tree, trekking on feet made silent through years of practice. Few recognized the advantages studying dance could provide. One such advantage was learning how to move smoothly and silently. No one wanted to dance with a partner who would clomp around like they were wearing heavy boots. Another advantage was being much more sure of footing when moving.

The result was that the blonde cat moved better than most through the brush of the forest, even thought she was not used to the environment or specifically trained to move well in the forest.

Silence was useful for her right now. She was at a disadvantage with the closeness of the trees. _Wind's Edge_ was a useful weapon, but a whip could be hard to use in tight spaces, no matter if it was designed to wrap around cover or not. The dagger form of _Wind's Edge_ could work at close range, but it wouldn't be as much use for causing real damage.

Emily moved through the forest and kept an eye out for Grimm as well as her fellow students. She'd caught sight of some of her fellow students, like a beautiful and buxom blonde who had completely obliterated an Ursa, but they had already acquired partners.

She idly wondered what would happen if there was an odd number of students. What would happen to the odd one out? The thought was ridiculous, of course. Beacon undoubtedly accepted enough students to create an appropriate amount of teams for each class. Nevertheless, she hadn't found a partner yet.

An idea struck her and she quickly scaled a nearby tree, hoping that she would be able to spot more students from the higher vantage point. She'd also be able to avoid more of the Grimm in this manner.

She began to jump from tree to tree, steadily moving north, listening for any sign of her fellow students.

It wasn't long before she heard the sound of combat off to one side. Emily changed her course and moved towards it.

She landed on a sturdy branch and looked into a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing she saw the girl she had been comforting the previous night, Marie, fighting an Ursa. Emily was caught off guard by the style of combat the girl was using.

Marie was apparently weaponless and fighting with only her hands and feet. The only weapon or armor that was on the girl was a pair of maroon bracers that matched the girl's hair and jean jacket. Other than that, she simply wore black combat boots and a dark pair of pants and shirt.

The fact that Marie didn't have a weapon and that she was only five feet tall, however, didn't seem to have been given to the girl.

Emily watched as Marie bobbed past a swing from the rather large Ursa and drove her hand in a palm strike into the Grimm's chest. The Ursa stumbled back like it had been hit with a heavy hammer. The maroonette paused for a moment before she swept her leg out and drove it into the Ursa's knee.

There was a loud crack and the Grimm fell to the ground. It rolled over onto its stomach and tried to rise, but was hindered by the knee that Marie had broken. Emily saw her opening and reacted.

She lashed _Wind's Edge_ out and the sharp segments of the chain whip cut through the air and wrapped around the front leg on the Ursa's already injured side. Emily yanked back on the weapon and hopped back out of the tree. The branch she had been standing acted like a pulley and the force of her descent made the segments of metal cut cleanly through the Ursa's limb. Emily landed lightly on the ground and the Ursa, deprived of a second limb, fell uselessly to the ground.

Marie didn't waste any time. The moment the Ursa collapsed she hopped lightly onto the Ursa's back and a pair of short wide blades slid out of the bracers on her forearms. She slashed both of her arms and the blades cut through the Grimm's neck.

The monster's head dropped to the ground and the human hopped off of the body as it began to dissolve, the blades sliding back into the bracers and out of sight.

"Hey." Emily said. "You alright." Marie met her eyes as she spoke.

"Yeah. You partnered up yet?" Emily smiled.

"I am now." The Faunus said.

"Thanks for the assist." The human said. "Where'd you come up with the trick to cut that leg off?"

"Saw something like it in a video game that was being played in a store. The main character was wearing white and had a hood on. I don't remember the title."

"Huh." Marie said. "Inspired."

"Thanks." Emily replied, her cheeks turning slightly pink at the praise. "It was nothing. I'm sure you could've handled it." Marie shrugged.

"What could've happened is irrelevant. You helped a lot. Thanks." Emily's cheeks heated and she waved her hand vaguely northward.

"We've got a relic to collect. We should probably get moving." Marie nodded and the two girls set off towards their objective.

 **Author's note: The first part of initiation has been completed! Everybody is all partnered up and heading for the temple. Question for you all. What pieces do you think everyone will take? Also, Assassin's Creed fans will hopefully notice the reference I made during the chapter. Whelp, that's all I've got. I hope to have the next chapter out faster than this one. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Until next time! Hasta!**

 **PS: Special thanks to Arlnoff for catching the typos I had missed in edit. I apologize for those. :)**


	12. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Hey guys! So after that break I am back in business. I'm really sorry for the time gap between the last chapter and this one. A bunch of stuff happened. School crap, The Other Side of the Glass, life and so on. In order to make up for it I'm gonna try and post the rest of initiation as quickly as possible. Thankfully, school's out for the summer, so I have extra free time. Anyway, on with the show!**

 **Chapter 7**

"Man, the forest is thick here." Reginald said as he moved through the brush. "How're you supposed to know which way is north if you get turned around?" Andrew glanced upward at the tree canopy for a moment and then he pointed.

"It's that way." He said and began to move. Reginald glanced up as well and then back to the wolf, one eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"Now how did you figure that out?" He asked.

"The sun only goes one way." Andrew explained without facing his partner. "It rises in the East and sets in the West. Once you figure out the time it's easy." He glanced back at his golden partner. "So are you coming or what?"

Reginald hurried to catch up and asked, "Can't a guy stop and take a look around?"

"We're here to do a job." Andrew said. "Not to sightsee."

"What? We can't do both?"

"No." Andrew said shortly as he moved a tree branch aside. He let the branch go after he had passed and Reginald caught it with his hand before it whipped into him.

"Geez." The ram said, releasing the branch once he was clear. "One track much?"

"I just want to get our relic and get out of here." Andrew said. "It's kind of why we're here, you know?" Reginald snorted and Andrew glanced back at the ram. "What?"

"You need to relax a bit, man. Too much stress isn't healthy."

"I'm fine." Andrew said. Reginald shrugged.

"If you say so."

There was a ferocious growl and both Faunus spun and brought their weapons to bear. The barrels of both weapon pointed out towards nothing except the forest looming around them. After a long moment, comprehension dawned on Reginald's face and he quickly looked down. Then he gave Andrew a sheepish expression.

"Sorry." He said. "That was my stomach." Andrew could feel his pulse quicken in irritation.

"Your stomach?!" The wolf shouted, giving Reginald a looked that could've shattered stone.

"Well somebody," Reginald said dryly, "stopped me from having a full and complete breakfast. I'm not quite sure who though." Andrew glared.

"You deserved it." He muttered and started moving again with Reginald keeping pace slightly behind him.

"Probably." Reginald agreed. "It's not the first time a friend has decked me. Heck, it's not the first time I've been hit below the belt either."

"We are _not_ friends." Andrew said, emphasizing the negative. Then he added, "You know, for someone who has cash running on his usefulness, you're really not helping."

"Sure I am." Reginald said cheerfully. "I'm improving the ambiance." It was too much for Andrew.

"Is everything a joke to you?" The wolf snapped, rounding on the ram. Reginald didn't even flinch.

"Pretty much" He replied, meeting his partner's eyes without a hint of shame or fear. Their eyes locked and silence pressed in around them. The whole forest seemed to go still and then both Faunus moved simultaneously.

Their actions were in prefect sync, as if they'd been practicing with each other for years. Spinning back to back, the two Faunus swung their weapons in attack. Andrew's quarterstaff extended as he rotated and struck the neck of a leaping beowolf and driving it hard into to the ground. Reginald's machine gun shifted into a mace and the ram slammed the head of the weapon into another beowolf's snout, knocking the Grimm into a nearby tree. Both huntsmen in training capitalized on their opponent's immobility to finish them. Only after both Grimm were dissolving did they look at each other again.

"Well," Reg said hefting his mace so it rested casually on his shoulder. "It looks like we can work together on something, at least."

"Yeah." Andrew said planting one end of his his quarterstaff into the ground beside him. After a moment he added, "Truce? At least until we get out of here?"

"Only if you agree to relax a little." Reginald said shifting his weight into a more comfortable position. "It's for your own good. I promise."

"Only if you promise to take things more seriously." Andrew countered. Reginald grinned.

"I may not look it," He said twirling the black and gold mace in his hand. "But I take everything seriously. Deal."

They shook on it. A high pitched scream pierced the air around them. Both of the Faunus' weapons came back up into combat positions.

"It came from that way." Andrew said, pointing to a nearby break in the trees.

"Right." Reginald said and took off, with Andrew close on his heels. As a result, the wolf almost collided with Reginald when he slid to stop, starring ahead of him.

"Woah!" Andrew said, skidding to a stop as well. "What's the prob-" He stopped in mid sentence and followed the ram's gaze.

"Don't" Reginald said through his teeth. "Make any sudden moves."

* * *

"Do you see it?" Marie asked from the foot of the tree.

"Not anymore." Emily called from the upper branches. The blonde dropped lightly back down to the ground with barely a sound. "There's a really big clearing not too far from here. The Nevermore was flying around that area. I'm pretty sure that it was fighting someone. Then it started heading off towards Beacon cliff."

"Nothing we can do about it now." Marie said. "The clearing should be where we need to go. We'd best get moving."

Emily nodded and the two girls continued through the brush. It wasn't long before they reached the clearing in question.

The site had clearly been a battlefield, and recently too. Off to one side, there was a rough path of destruction through the forest that spread into the clearing. Several yards away from the ruin that was placed in the center of the clearing was a line of Nevermore feathers that had been speared into the earth. The line of feathers stopped at a shattered wall of now melting ice.

"What on Remnant happened here?" Emily asked.

"It must've been that fight you mentioned." Marie said. "The Nevermore was fighting at least one person." The fighter walked to the line of feathers and crouched down. "Look at this." She said, lifting up a small section of red cloth. Emily's mind jumped to the little girl in the red cloak she had seen the day before. Fear coalesced in the Faunus' stomach. Was she dead? Or injured?

"We should try and find whoever is being chased." Emily said, her voice gaining a subtle edge. Marie nodded her head towards the abandoned temple.

"Then lets quickly take a look at what we need to get."

The two girls walked to the old stone structure. Emily's pace was slightly faster than Marie's, causing the Faunus to reach the ruined temple first. The blonde examined the various relics placed in a ring around them.

"Chess pieces?" She asked as Marie reached her. The shorter girl looked around as well, choosing not to answer. After a moment of contemplation, Emily said, "Well, which one should we take?" Marie took a purposeful step forward and picked up the golden colored 'white' pawn.

"This one." She said. Emily tilted her head to one side.

"Why that one?" The Faunus asked. She glanced around and her eyes fell on another chess piece. "What not something like the queen?" She asked with a small smile. "It's the powerhouse piece, isn't it? It would apply to you at least." Marie met her partner's eyes.

"The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board." She replied. "At least, at first glance. But, in actuality, the pawn is the most powerful. The pawn is the foundation of a chess player's game. They're the first and last lines of defense, and they can become any other piece on the board. They're a lot like Huntresses if you think about it. They're there to keep their fellows safe from danger and to sneak up to help bring victory. I'm far a more a pawn than a queen. And I have the feeling that the same goes for you." Emily gave the maroonette a calculating look.

"I didn't have you pegged as someone who would use symbolism." She said, honestly.

"I'm not," Marie replied. "I'm just saying how things are." She held up the pawn. "You alright with this one?" Emily nodded.

"Of course." She said. "I liked that choice more anyway. And I think I like the choice even more now. I was really just curious about what you would say." The two girls made their way out of the old temple and in the direction of Beacon cliff. Emily bit her lip in thought before asking, "Can I ask you something?" Marie nodded. Emily took a deep breath and asked, "What happened last night?"

Marie stopped walking and didn't answer. Emily's face heated up in embarrassment. "I'm sorry." She said quickly. "You don't have to answer. I was just worried about it. It seemed… intense. I just thought since we were partners that I might…" she stopped talking and hurriedly looked away, blushing in embarrassment. She shouldn't have said anything. She glanced back at the human girl and caught Marie's eyes moving away from her cat ears. "We should probably get moving. See where the Nevermore is going. Make sure everyone's alright."

The Faunus started moving again and she heard the sound of Marie's boots behind her, breaking the awkward silence that Emily had made. After a long moment, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry about intruding." She said. "I shouldn't have asked about something that private. I just… I know what it's like to have intense dreams from time to time." Her partner didn't answer as they reentered the forest. Emily felt like she had only made things worse and opened her mouth to apologize again when Marie spoke.

"Last night," she said. "Wasn't very unusual." Silence fell between the two girls and Emily almost missed the soft. "Thank you," from her partner. Emily relaxed slightly and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She slowed her steps until Marie was beside her.

Emily reached over and took Marie's hand in her own. She gave her partner's hand a quick, reassuring squeeze.

"Any time, Marie. Whenever you need it." The human glanced at her partner and her eyes met Emily's sky blue orbs. The fighter felt an odd wave of comfort rush through her. Her eyes moved to look at the blonde cat ears on Emily's head. She expected the usual conflict of emotions in her chest. It didn't happen. There was only that sense of comfort.

The maroonette smiled at the Faunus and the two of them quickly made their way through the forest.


	13. Chapter 8

**Author's note: One quick thing I'd like to mention before we continue. I'm not completely confident in my skill in writing fight scenes. It's not something I've had a whole lot of practice with. I hope this fight, and future ones, turned out well. If it's complete garbage, then I apologize. I've been told I'm better with the feels knife. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, on with the show!**

 **Chapter 8**

Branches snapped as Reginald and Andrew bolted through the trees of Emerald forest.

"You owe me 20 lien!" Andrew shouted as they ran. Reginald managed to give Andrew an exasperated look as he dodged past a large tree.

"What?!" He demanded in near indignation. "Since when?"

"Since you set us on a path to get killed!" Andrew replied.

Reginald glanced back and said, "Oh, no. There is no way I'm letting you blame me for this."

"Try and stop me." Andrew countered and pointed ahead of them. "I see a clearing up ahead. We can try and thin them out there." Reginald nodded and both Faunus put in an extra burst of speed.

The boys hurtled into the clearing collided headlong into a pair of people they hadn't noticed. Their unfortunate victims were not prepared for the impact and were knocked down, dragging the unwitting attackers down with them.

Andrew looked down to see that he had fallen on top of Emily, the cat Faunus he had breakfasted with that morning. The blonde blushed heavily and he quickly got back to his feet. Reginald lifted himself slightly and noticed Marie looking up at him, annoyance clearly written across her face.

He smiled sheepishly and said, "Oops. Sorry. Come here often?" Marie got her legs under him and kicked him off of her. Reginald fell off of her with a heavy thud. "Ow." He said as Marie flipped herself to her feet.

"Oh you'll be fine." The maroonette said.

"What're you guys in such a rush for?" Emily asked, glancing towards the Beacon. "The school's not going anywhere."

"We all need to get moving before-" Reginald said, getting cut off by Andrew.

"Before we all die by a small, really pissed off horde." The wolf said. Both of the girls stared at him.

"What did you guys do?!" Marie asked, accusation clear in her voice.

Andrew pointed at Reginald and said, "Blame this guy." He said. Reginald gave Andrew another exasperated look.

"Oh, don't start that again." He said. "It's not like it was on purpose." Emily made a sound, but everyone else seemed to miss it.

"What happened?" Marie asked again.

"Reg here," Andrew explained. "Accidentally led us straight into a small herd of beowolves and the only way to deal with the problem was for us to bolt. We were lucky that we managed to get to the temple and have time to get out relic before we had to bolt again."

"Guys…" Emily said, loud enough to be clear this time. She was ignored, again.

"So you guys led them towards us?" Marie asked.

"Actually, no." Reginald said. "The plan was to thin them out around here and then-"

"GUYS!" Emily shouted. Everyone turned to look at her and the blonde girl moved her eyes left and right in a significant manner. Everyone fell silent, and a moment later they heard it. A series of low, menacing growls coming from every direction.

"Uh-oh." Reginald said and he, along with his companions, moved so that their backs faced each other.

"Well, now what do we do?" Andrew asked in a low, fierce voice as he put his quarterstaff in a ready position.

"We fight." Marie said, her voice adopting a similar edge to Andrew's. As she spoke, she lifted her arms and a pair of thick, short blades slid out from her bracers. The metal gleamed in the sunlight.

"There's an awful lot of them." Reginald said, hefting his mace with his right hand. The clip from the weapon detached and shifted into a small, buckler style shield that Reginald gripped with his left hand. The shield and mace were connected by a belt of bullets that hung loosely between the two objects. "We didn't get the chance to estimate before we cut loose."

"We could push through and try and make a break for it." Marie said, her eyes moving from left to right, trying to gauge where an attack might come from.

"Isn't that what got us in this mess?" Andrew asked, his eyes mirroring Marie's.

"Well, we've got to do something." Reginald said, his voice starting to get antsy. "I doubt they're going to wait for much longer."

"Do any of you have Dust on you?" Emily asked suddenly.

"Dust?" Reginald asked.

"Yes. Any Dust you have. I have an idea." She replied. "There's no time explain. Just pass it to me, quickly. When they charge, defend yourselves and cover me. I'll try and help but I'll need most of my concentration on my idea." Reginald took a part off of his mace and handed it to Emily.

"Fire powder." He said. "I use it for an emergency lighter." Emily nodded and took the lighter. Andrew passed over a clip of ammunition.

"It's not much." He said. "Some freeze rounds." Emily accepted the clip and placed it and the lighter in a pocket.

"As counter-intuitive as this sounds," Emily said. "Draw them to us. Hopefully this will be enough." Her three companions nodded and readied themselves. The beowolves chose that moment to attack. Letting out a collective howl, the monstrous wolves charged the gathered students, resembling a great black wave, to snuff out their defiance.

Marie was the first to counter. She side stepped a swipe of claws and slashed, managing to lop off an arm of a wolf. The Grimm howled and Marie drove one of her bladed bracers through the wolf's chest, pushing the creature down to the ground.

Andrew vaulted over the human fighter with his quarterstaff and planted his foot into another beowolf's snout. The Faunus rolled forward, and also straightened up, the two Andrews connected together by one leg. A nearby beowolf swiped at the standing Andrew, and its claw passed through him as if he wasn't there. That beowolf took Reginald's mace squarely in the jaw, forcing the creature to hit the ground hard.

The Andrew on the ground rotated, his quarterstaff compressing into a rifle as he moved. The barrel flashed as he shot another beowolf that was about to strike Emily.

The cat Faunus spun on the spot and threw out her chain whip. The blade on the last segment of the weapon struck in the wolf's throat and the blonde girl adjusted her grip on the weapon's hilt and pulled. The metal blade tore out of the Grimm and the segmented metal twisted through the air as it followed Emily's body and wrapped around another beowolf's leg. Another pull of the weapon forced the razor sharp segments of metal to cut through the creature's leg.

Marie savagely kicked the three legged monster and it was launched into several of its companions, knocking them down like bowling pins. The fighter wasn't fast enough to block an attack from her flank, her reflexes seeming to become slower after her kick.

The beowolf slashed at the human girl's side. Her aura took most of the damage and she stumbled away from the attack and adjusted her stance for a second attack.

A gunshot from Andrew's rifle knocked the beowolf down and the wolf Faunus quickly rotated to jam his staff in-between the open jaws of another Grimm.

"This is getting old, quick!" He shouted as he shoved the monster aside. There was a quick burst of gun fire as Reginald filled the beowolf with bullets from his assault rifle.

"Guys!" Emily shouted, warning her companions about the Grimm that were closing in on her. All three of her companions quickly formed up around her and began to fight defensively. Unfortunately, focusing on defense put them at a disadvantage to the seemingly limitless horde of Grimm.

"How many of these things you tick off?!" Marie asked as she bisected yet another Grimm. She lifted her bracer to shield herself from another attack.

"Not this many." Andrew replied, spinning his staff to block an attack of his own. His form seemed to blur as he appeared to move in two directions at once. The monster attacked the nearer of the two Andrews and its attack passed through the illusion as the real Andrew drove the bayonet end of his staff into the Grimm, discharging the weapon at the same time.

"How much longer do we need to do this?" Reginald asked Emily. The cat Faunus didn't answer. She had her eyes closed and was holding Andrew's clip and Reginald's lighter in one hand and her weapon's hilt, the weapon now collapsed into a dagger, in the other.

Marie let out a shout as a beowolf got a hit on her. Andrew grunted as another beowolf fixed its jaws around his staff. Reginald glanced at his companion's problems and shouted, "Somebody cover Emily's eyes and ears! Everyone else get down!"

Andrew shoved the beowolf back and let go of his weapon. He quickly moved behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her eyes and ears, closing his eyes as well. Marie threw herself to the ground, head down and hands over her ears.

Reginald grinned and slammed the head of his mace into the ground. There was a blinding flash of golden light and a deafening BOOM of sound. Andrew recoiled, his hands flying to his ears. The beowolves had a similar, but more intense reaction. The Grimm howled and stumbled around, completely disoriented.

Emily opened her eyes and began to pirouette, her chain whip following her body's rotation. The weapon began to glow, first viridian, then yellow, then red and blue joined. A breeze suddenly blew past Reginald, the only other person besides Andrew and Emily still standing. Sensing the danger, he flung himself at Andrew, knocking them both to the ground just as the lightning started.

Arcs of yellow energy left the Wind's Edge, striking various Grimm that were still stunned. Bolts of fire joined the lightning, followed quickly by snow and bits of ice. A multi-colored cyclone formed around the blonde cat and the Dust augmented wind began to affect the remaining Grimm.

Lighting, fire, and ice shot out at the Grimm. The monsters were frozen, burned, or simply blasted by the elements flying from the cat. The Grimm who had recovered from Reginald's attack and who were at the periphery of the bizarre wind storm fled. They simply turned and bolted from the group while their fellows were destroyed.

Emily's spinning slowed down and the Faunus girl collapsed. Reginald took a slow look around the clearing. They were surrounded by dissolving Grimm bodies. The ram got to his feet and let out a low whistle.

"Remind me never to piss Emily off." He said to nobody in particular. Marie got to her feet and stared at the carnage.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

"I'm pretty sure the death of our Dust." He said as he knelt down to check on Andrew. "Granted, the complete death of most of the beowolves in the area as well, but still, it's gonna take me forever to replace that lighter." He tapped Andrew lightly on the forehead. "Hey, Andrew." He asked. "You alive?" The blue haired Faunus opened his eyes and growled.

"I am going to make sure that the next week is going to be complete and utter Hell for you, Reg." Reginald grinned and helped his fellow Faunus to his feet.

"Sorry about that." He said. "There was no time to better shield you. But look at the _bright_ side! The beowolves are all dead." Andrew stared at the dissipating bodies and then at the collapsed Faunus. Marie had crouched over her and was checking her over.

"She did _this_?" He asked. Reginald nodded.

"Yep." He said, making a popping sound at the end of the word. "I don't think all of the bodies are necessarily from her, but mostly, yeah. That was her." Andrew looked at Marie.

"Is she alive?" He asked, awe in his voice. Marie nodded.

"She's out cold, but still breathing. Hardly surprising considering what she just pulled off." Reginald suddenly bent down and scooped something off the ground.

"Here," he said, holding it out to Marie. "It looks like you dropped your relic." Marie took it and thanked him.

"We should get back to Beacon." Andrew said. "At least so Emily can get looked at if nothing else." Marie nodded and picked her partner up in a fireman's carry.

"It makes sense to stick together at this point." She said. "I can't fight and carry her at the same time."

"That sounds like a job for us." Reginald said cheerily. "Protecting damsels and kicking butt." Marie narrowed her eyes.

"I can still kick you." She said and her mouth made an odd motion. Andrew couldn't quite swear to it, but it looked like Marie had suppressed a smile.


	14. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As is turned out, they were the last group to make it back to Beacon. After the group's encounter with the army of beowolves, the creatures of Grimm seemed to be giving them a wide berth. They were only delayed twice.

The first time was when Emily regained consciousness and they had stopped to make sure that she could move on her own. Although she didn't like it, she still needed assistance from Marie for the rest of the trek back to the academy.

The second time was when they reached the bottom of the cliff face and encountered a rather impressive sight.

At the base of Beacon cliff were more ruins like the ones that the group had collected their relics from. These ruins, unlike the ones inside the woods, were suspended over a large gap between the cliff face that Beacon was built upon and the edge of the land that ran along the edge of the Emerald forest.

"What on Remnant happened here?" Reginald asked. "Even for ruins, this place looks more banged up than it should be."

This was true. A path of destruction led from the edge of the forest to the remains of a destroyed bridge and structure that connected the two pieces of land together. Not only was a large portion of the bridge missing, but the building-like structure, which had been largely intact when the group had been launched earlier in the day, was now mostly destroyed.

"It must've been the Nevermore." Emily said, partially leaning on her partner as the group stood there, contemplating the destruction. "Marie and I saw a giant Nevermore that was fighting someone. The battle must've moved up here as whomever was fighting it tried to get back to Beacon."

The destruction of the ruins impeded the group's progress, but it still wasn't too long before they managed to get back to the academy and into the locker rooms. They all separated as they entered the locker rooms, each huntsman or huntress in training moving towards their individual lockers.

Andrew's locker was set further away from his companions', giving him a moment of peace and quiet as he stowed his gear. He let out a deep breath as he placed his compressed quarterstaff/rifle into his locker. The day's events were already turning into one great blur. It was hard to imagine that he had only gotten to know Emily, Reginald, and Marie just yesterday.

He wondered idly if this pace would be maintained throughout his time at the academy. A lopsided smile appeared on his face at the thought. The pace might have been hectic, but he was just fine with it. He could appreciate the extra challenge. The Faunus was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn't notice the person coming up behind him right away. He tensed almost imperceptibly when a voice spoke from behind him.

"Hello, Andrew." Someone said in a low, smooth, feminine voice. Andrew desperately fought back the urge to yank his weapon back out of his locker and beat the owner of the voice until she was six feet underground. He'd have probably shot her a few times in the head too, just to be sure she wouldn't be getting back up again. You could never be too careful with _her_.

Andrew managed to hold back the urge to reflexively murder the voice's owner, barely. His hand did move slightly back towards his locker.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Hello, Terra," with just enough venom in his voice to make his distaste for her completely and utterly clear. "I thought you moved to Mistral." He kicked his locker door shut to keep away any further ideas of reflexive based murder and turned to look at Terra North.

Her combat gear was exactly as he remembered. She was wearing a loose, tailored, grass green shirt and fitted, earth brown pants. The basic look was completed with a pair of tall leather boots with faint floral detailing inscribed in gold along the leather. A belt with a pink, floral design was wrapped around her waist, which held two holster-like pouches that usually held her weapons. The holsters were empty at the moment, which was a good sign. She was technically unarmed. Then again, the presence of her weapons didn't really add to her lethality when it came to Terra. She was as dangerous unarmed as she was armed, perhaps more so. The lack of a weapon tended to make people drop their guard.

His eyes flipped up to Terra's oblong face, framed by long, dark hair which was accented by a green ribbon woven into it. He avoided meeting her eyes, which were dark like her hair. Terra's eyes had always reminded Andrew of a black, bottomless pit. Soulless, cold, and deadly. Terra's lips jutted out into a pout in response to Andrew's question.

"Oh, you sound like you didn't miss me." She pouted. "That's not what friends do."

"We were never friends, Terra." Andrew growled. Terra tilted her head and adjusted her stance. Her clothes rippled like grass in the wind in response to the movement.

"That's not what I remember." She said, the pout staying on her face.

"Then you remember wrong. Now, go away." Fire flashed in Andrew's eyes and his hands twitched before relaxing. Terra noticed.

"Oh," she commented. Her eyes gleamed slightly as well. "Now there's the fire that I remember." She twisted a lock of her hair in a playful manner as her eyes flicked up and down. Andrew's senses went on alert. Terra was giving him a look that made him feel like a rat caught in a trap.

"You have to the count of three to leave." He said.

"Oh come on, Andrew. It's been so long."

"One."

"You don't even want to catch up?"

" _Two_ " Andrew said and his hand moved slowly towards his locker door. Terra's eyes tracked his hand's movement and she let out a sigh.

"Very well." She said and took a step back. "I guess I'll be seeing you later then." She smiled and added, "Who knows, maybe we'll be on the same team. I guess we'll see." Andrew smiled grimly.

"Trust me, Terra. We're not on the same team." Terra laughed in response.

"My, you have changed, pup. You're so confident, so driven. I like it." She gave him a predatory smile and said, "I'll see you around." Then she turned and walked down the row of lockers. As she walked, somebody moved past her, bumping hard into side as they walked back. Annoyance flashed across Terra's face. "Watch where you're going." She snapped. The playfulness was gone from her voice, replaced with sharp anger reminiscent of a cracking whip.

"Sorry," Marie said in a completely unconvincing voice. "I wasn't paying attention." Terra gave her a searing look and continued down the locker room. Marie came up to Andrew.

"You sure know how to make friends." She commented, dryly.

"She's not my friend." Andrew snapped. He let out breath, trying to get his emotions under control. Seeing Terra again brought up too many bad memories. Memories of a dark chapter in his life. Memories he had no intention of sharing. The Faunus shook himself and glanced at Marie. "What're you doing here?"

"Collecting you, actually." The short girl said. "Goodwitch should be telling everyone where we need to go soon. I figured I'd find you and make sure you hadn't wandered off or something. Emily's gone looking for your partner." She nodded her head in the same direction that Terra had gone. "We're all gathering over there until Goodwitch gives us a call." The two students started off after Terra. After a moment, Marie spoke up again. "Who was that?" She asked.

"Trouble." He said, shaking his head. He didn't elaborate and Marie didn't question him any further.

It wasn't long until they reached the other students. Marie didn't speak to him once they had joined the group. She simply moved into the crowd and disappeared. Andrew frowned and leaned up against a locker rather than comment. Reginald came up beside him not too long after.

"You okay?" The ram asked. "You like grumpier than usual." Andrew shook himself and looked at his partner.

"It's nothing. Just some old stuff." He said. Reginald raised an eyebrow to this.

"You have old stuff?" He asked with a small smile. "What are you? 90?"

"Funny." Andrew said and gave the blonde a look. Both Faunus fell silent just before the speaker came to life.

"All first year students report to the amphitheater for the assignment of teams. Again, all first year students report to the amphitheater for the assignment of teams." Andrew straightened up and looked at his partner once more.

"Ready to meet the others?" He asked. Reginald grinned and they followed the rest of the first years.

* * *

Andrew and Reginald stood with the other first years in a room just off of the amphitheater. They had been told to wait with their partners until a teacher called out the relic that they had collected. Then they would head to the stage and be given their team name.

After the older students had been gathered in the high seats, Professor Ozpin had briefly spoken about the bonds made in battle and how they said much about character and how people became closer after showing that much of themselves.

Andrew had nodded when he heard Ozpin's words, and even Reginald had a solemn moment of silence when the headmaster had spoken.

Shortly afterwards chess pieces had started being called and small groups of students had left the room to receive their team names and learned who would lead them.

The first years could hear everything through the speakers in the room.

"Darren Forrester, Terra North, Raymond Nest, Steven Blackstone." Professor Ozpin said. Andrew's ears perked when he heard that.

"So, both of them are one team." He said to himself. "That's just jolly." Maybe he'd get lucky and Darren and Terra would despise each other. Yeah, sure, and maybe he was the long lost relative of Mogar. Professor Ozpin kept speaking.

"The four of you collected the black rook pieces. From this day forward you will be known as team FRST (Forest). Led by: Darren Forrester."

The sound of polite applause and Andrew sighed. He doubted that Darren being a team leader would make the human any more tolerable. The wolf's brow furrowed in thought. Darren being a team leader. The sentence didn't make much sense to him. Andrew remembered quite clearly how effortlessly he had trounced Darren in their last major encounter. Had he been holding back? If so, why? It didn't make much sense.

"White pawn." An unseen teacher said. Reginald stretched and glanced at Andrew.

"Ready?" He asked. Andrew nodded and the two Faunus headed towards the doorway leading to the stage. He couldn't help but give a small smile when he saw his new teammates.

"Fancy seeing you here." Reginald said in a bad attempt at nonchalance. Marie raised an eyebrow in response.

"You don't seem surprised." She said.

"Well, we did happen to see your chess piece back in the forest." Andrew said. "Any hope of surprise is ruined when that happens. It's a good move to make though when you want to plan ahead." Emily smiled in response.

"Did you just make a joke?" She asked. Andrew blinked in surprise. He _had_ just made a joke. And it was a pun. It wasn't a very good one, but it was still a joke. That didn't seem right. Before anyone could comment, they were given the cue to head out into the arena. As they walked out, Professor Ozpin spoke.

"Emily Virden, Andrew Deneem, Marie Bordeaux, and Reginald Aurum." The three Faunus and sole human stood before their headmaster in a straight line. Ozpin gave them each a meaningful look as he continued speaking. "The four of you collected the white pawn pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team EMRD (Emerald)." Andrew felt a warm feeling in his chest. He realized that it wasn't simply pride, like he'd expected. It was more complicated than that. There was pride and certainly there was a lot of it, but there some other emotion that he couldn't quite place. "Led by: Emily Virden."

Andrew's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly in surprise. He looked over to the cat Faunus to gauge her reaction. Emily looked completely astounded. She stared, wide eyed at Ozpin, her mouth making small opening and closing movements.

"I." Was all she could stutter. "I.I." Professor Ozpin nodded to her with a slight smile.

"Wonderful job, young lady." He said and Reginald reached around Marie and clapped Emily hard on the shoulder.

"That's incredible!" He said excitedly. "Great job!" Emily continued to look speechless as the newly minted team EMRD walked off of the stage to some free spaces in the crowd of students. As they moved, Andrew thought he caught a small gleam on Emily's face, but he couldn't swear to it.

They all watched as more students were brought out and formed into teams. The team applauded when it was appropriate. Of the four, Reginald was the most enthusiastic. Andrew noted the fact that Marie seemed rather distant, only half clapping and her hand drifting to her waist from time to time, as if to touch something that wasn't there.

The last two teams that were formed caught Andrew's attention.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, and Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as team JNPR (Juniper). Led by: Jaune Arc."

Andrew recognized the blonde boy as the one he had seen with Pyrrha Nikos and the Schnee earlier that day in the locker room. He bent his head Reginald and asked, "How tough do you think that blonde has to be if he's leading a team with the invincible girl?"

"Beats me." Reginald replied. As if one cue, Pyrrha playfully punched Jaune on the arm and the boy accidentally fell over. Andrew gave Jaune a look. The wolf wasn't entirely certain of Ozpin's choice. A light punch wasn't something that knocked someone over. He tucked the thought away for later. Team JNPR was clearing the stage for the final team to be made.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as team RWBY (Ruby). Led by: Ruby Rose."

Yang leapt over towards Ruby and gave her a big hug. As Andrew watched the two girls, he noticed the expression on Weiss Schnee's face. He looked at Ruby again and finally realized where he had seen her before.

"She was at the police station." He said, more to himself than any of his team. Ozpin's words from back then came back to him. 'Believe it or not, I was here on other business.'

Well, that certainly explained how a young girl could get into Beacon. Whatever else Ruby was, she clearly had to have talent. Andrew hoped he would get a chance to meet her sometime.

Ozpin spoke again, just loud enough for Andrew to hear him this time.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an, interesting year."

 **Author's Note: Whelp, that's done. Initiation and the creation of teams. I hope everything has come out well and that you've all enjoyed the story so far.  
And now you all know who the mysterious _she_ is. You'll get to know why Andrew hates her soon enough. :) And hopefully some of you might even agree with him.  
** **Again, I'm really sorry for the HUGE delay in posting. Things will be easier without school looming over me. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review. I really enjoy hearing from you all! Until next time! Ciao!**


	15. Chapter 10

**Author's note: So, yeah. I'm so sorry that I haven't posted anything in nearly two months. Life got slightly interesting for a little while and then I started working on EMRD content that is way down the line and this sort of got away from me. But enough about my idiocy and my life. You're all here for the story, so let us continue. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10**

Golden light slanted through a gap in the rich, red curtain over the dorm room's window. As the sun slowly began to rise from the horizon, Emily let out a quiet sigh. She always liked seeing the sunrise, and made it a point to get up early to see it whenever she could. She had been overjoyed to find out that their dorm room faced the east. Her daily ritual wouldn't be interrupted while she was Beacon.

The Faunus watched the sky shift in color as the sun rose, starting red and shifting into orange and gold as the sun continued to move. A couple of birds in a nearby tree began to chirp, the sound drifting lazily through the air and into the open window, past the Faunus girl who sat on the window sill.

Emily lifted her hand and pushed just the slightest amount of her aura from her spread fingers. A faint, viridian glow left her palm and a small breeze flowed through the air around the Faunus. She bent her will to the semblance, having the air move around one of the nearer branches of the tree. A young bird left its nest and took wing with the little gust of air that Emily had created. She let out a light, innocent laugh and twisted the wind current with her mind, encouraging the bird to go first this way and then that way with the current.

After a couple moments, she cut away her control and let the bird fly away, likely in search of food. Emily made a mental note to try and grab some crackers or bread from the cafeteria later.

The cat turned and looked into the dorm room. She could see the still forms of Andrew and Reginald asleep in their beds. Her eyes fell onto Marie's bed, and its clear lack of an occupant. Another pang of worry went through the team leader. Marie hadn't been there when she had gotten up to watch the sunrise. Not only that, but Emily could've sworn that she had heard whimpers and sobs last night. They had reminded her of the night before initiation, when she had found Marie and had comforted her.

Emily hadn't asked then, and she didn't plan on asking now. At least, not yet. She was willing to wait and see if Marie would want to talk about it.

She gracefully rotated and stood up, closing the window behind her with a soft click. She padded over to where her suitcases had been placed and unzipped one of them as carefully as she could..

After a moment, she pulled out what she had been looking for and sat down at her desk, folding one leg over her knee and propping the book up. She opened it and began to work. She'd make sure that the boys were up soon, but she wanted to work while her mind was on the subject.

* * *

It was the sound of a whistle that woke Andrew up. His eyes snapped open and immediately made a scan of the room looking for the source of the disturbance. He had to fight back the impulse to immediately seek for a nearby weapon. After fighting back the reflex, Andrew glanced around and realized that there was no whistle present in the room. He did note that Emily had her head through the doorway, looking up and down the hall.

"What on Remnant was that?" Andrew asked, lifting himself up by his arms. Emily moved back into the dorm room and Marie, who was sitting at her desk, answered.

"It was a whistle." She replied.

"I realize that." The wolf countered. "Let me rephrase. Who is using a whistle in the middle of the dorms?"

"No idea." Emily said and then glanced over at Reginald. "How'd he sleep through it?" Andrew followed her gaze and shrugged.

"Beats me." He said looking back at the cat Faunus. He wondered idly if Reginald was a heavy sleeper. If he was, it might end up being a problem later. All the combat training in the world wouldn't help a man who could just have his throat slit in his sleep.

"We should probably get him up." Marie commented. The maroonette didn't glance in Reginald's direction, instead focusing on setting a locked wooden box on one corner of her desk.

"I'm not stoping you." Andrew said as he rotated on the bed and set his feet on the floor.

"Shouldn't you do it?" Emily asked turing her gaze to the wolf. "He is your partner."

"Does that suddenly make me his baby sitter?" Andrew asked. "You're the team leader, after all."

"What's that mean?" Emily asked.

"Well that kind of makes you responsible for all of us, doesn't it?" He asked. He stood up and quickly stretched, rolling his neck at the same time to make sure there wasn't a crick in it. Emily opened her mouth to reply, but another voice cut in.

"You two sound like an old married couple. I didn't realize you cared so much." Emily and Andrew both looked at Reginald, who had opened an eye and was looking at the two Faunus. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the attention. But I can't help feeling that it's a little much for this time of day." Andrew scowled at the ram.

"And how long have you been up?" He asked, accusingly.

"Long enough." The ram replied and rolled himself into a sitting position on his bed.

Marie finally looked over her shoulder at the three Faunus and said, "Not for too long. His breathing shifted when you two started talking about him. That's probably about when he came to." Reginald gave the girl a goofy smile.

"I didn't realize that you were so interested in me." He said. Marie rolled her eyes.

"Please." She drawled. "Why in Dust's name would I be interested in you?" Reginald's smiled widened slightly.

"Well, I've been told that my sparkling personality does wonders."

"I don't care how much Glynda yells at me," Marie said, her voice low and bored, "I will stick your head and your 'sparkling personality' through the dorm wall if you don't stop attempting to flirt with me, right now." The human said this in a manner that conveyed to everyone else that she was completely serious. Her grey eyes moved to each of her Faunus team mates in turn. "We're a team." She continued. "We're not some college freshman playing get-to-know-you games. We're training to be huntsmen and huntresses. We're supposed to be professionals. Act like it."

The Faunus fell silent for a moment and Andrew looked Marie up and down.

"You seem to setting yourself on a pretty high pedestal there." He said, a hint of aggression in his tone. "You're kinda reminding me of the display the Schnee put on the other day in front of the school." Marie's face flushed red and she surged to her feet.

"Don't you dare go comparing me to that little princess!" She shouted. "We're nothing alike!" And then she stormed out of the room, brushing past a stunned looking Emily as she did.

Silence fell in the dorm once more and Emily gave Andrew her best attempt at a look that her own mother had used on her when she had misbehaved as a child. The wolf raised his hands defensively.

"What?" He asked. "You can't seriously believe that she wasn't just a little self-righteous right there?"

"She wasn't wrong." Emily said with an edge in her voice. "You're training to be a huntsman. You should at least try to be more professional."

Andrew opened his mouth to retort, but felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Reginald shaking his head. Andrew growled and looked away from both of them, attempting to marshall his anger. It wasn't Marie's place to lecture him or tell him how to act. He'd done that dance before and he wasn't going to let anyone else try it again.

The sound of strings being strummed broke the tense silence around the Faunus and everyone looked at Reginald. The ram had pulled an acoustic guitar from somewhere and was playing a couple of cords. Once he had his teammates' attention, he lifted the instrument slightly.

"Do either of you know where I can put this?" He asked, innocently. Andrew could name a few choice places where Reginald's guitar could be put, but he decided to use it as a distraction to help break the tension. Emily seemed to be thinking along the same lines and the three of them began to find places to put their belongings.

Much to Andrew's surprise, it wasn't Reginald who had the most belongings. It was Emily. Emily had several beautiful landscape drawings that she had apparently made herself. She claimed that it was part of her training and that they weren't really much, but both Andrew and Reginald caught the bit of pride in her face when they put them up on the walls. The cat also had several novels, mostly of fantasies and a few fairy tales, set aside by her bed. Emily's desk had a rather basic set up and the only thing that wasn't related to school work was an art book that was alongside her text books and a small collection of artist pencils in a desk drawer.

Reginald contributed a pair of _X-ray and Vav_ posters, which ended up on the wall by his bed, along with several issues of the hit comic series on a nearby bedside table. He also set his guitar off to one side of the room where it would be out of the way. Other than those items and his school supplies, the ram had made a relatively small impression on the room's decoration.

Andrew's only real possession was his chess set, which was set aside where it could be out of the way but also accessible.

After the Faunus had organized their belongings, they realized that Marie didn't appear to have much of anything. And anything that she did have had already been set up.

"It looks like her biggest possession is that box on her desk." Reginald said, pointing to the object in question.

"What do you think is in it?" Andrew asked, adjusting a pair of his text books.

"Nothing that's our business." Emily said and shot Andrew a look. Andrew narrowed his eyes at the implication of the look but didn't say anything in response.

"Well, if she's missed anything she'll be able to set it up later tonight." Reginald said and stretched greatly. "When's class?"

"Not for a little while." Emily replied as she settled on the edge of her bed. "I thought we might try and, you know, talk for a little bit?" Her voice raised with the last word, making the statement sound more like a question. Andrew leaned back in the chair he was sitting in.

"What's there to talk about?" He asked. Emily shrugged.

"I don't know. Something interesting about yourself?" She asked.

"I don't think there's anything interesting that I need to share." Andrew replied. "Marie had one good point. This isn't kindergarden." Emily let out a frustrated groan.

"Dust, you aren't going to give me an inch, are you?" She asked. "How are we supposed to work together if we don't get to know each other?"

"And that has to be done right now?" The wolf countered.

"Well, no." Emily replied. "But it seems better to try and get something figured out to start. Like, ground rules, you know?"

"Such as?" Reginald asked amiably. Emily lifted her hands and dropped them again.

"I don't know. Guidelines about our stuff?" She asked, confidence clearly lacking in her voice.

"I've got a guideline." Andrew said, rising to his feet. "You touch my stuff, you get hurt. I'm simple that way." Then he left. Emily groaned and put her face in her hands.

"Real charmer, isn't he?" Reginald said, gazing at the door.

"Yeah, 'charmer' is a word." Emily commented, her voice muffled by her hands. "He seemed nice enough during initiation. What'd I do?"

"I don't think it was you." Reginald reassured her. "I'm pretty sure he's just not used to, you know, people."

"How am I going to have to deal with that?" Emily asked, a hint of desperation seeping into her voice. "I'm supposed to be the team's leader."

"True." The ram said. "But that doesn't mean you're our mother. Or that everything is your responsibility. Let him warm up a little bit. Vale wasn't built in a day. These things take time. Okay?" Emily took a deep breath and pulled her face out of her hands.

"Okay." She said and gave the ram a small smile. "Are you sure you're not, like, 80 or something?" Reginald blinked.

"Last time I checked, no." He replied. "Why?"

"You remind me of my grandfather. He was always patient with 'young whippersnappers' as he called us." Reginald grinned.

"Thanks." He said. Then he grew thoughtful. "Crap." he said.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"How on Remnant am I going to pick up chicks if they all think I'm 80?" He asked, a note of distress in his voice. "This is horrible!" He declared. "I'm gonna have to visit a nursing home if I want to get a date!" Emily cupped her hands over her mouth and fought desperately to hold back giggles. "Are you laughing at me?" Reginald asked with false indignation.

"No." Emily managed to choke out.

"You are laughing at me!" He accused. "Laughing at my misery!" Emily burst out laughing so hard that she fell off her bed.

 **Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Things were a little different this time with the emotional conflict rather than the physical one, which is honestly something I enjoy working with. So how did I do? Did the discussion seem real and the emotions genuine? Leave a review and let me know what you think. And don't forget to favorite and follow the story. It's really nice to know that you're enjoying what I'm making. Until next time! Ciao!**


	16. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"One of the most important skills you will need to master as future huntsmen and huntresses is combat." Glynda Goodwitch said to the gathered students. "And not just combat against the creatures of Grimm. Huntsmen and Huntresses are tasked with defending the kingdoms against the forces that conspire against them. This includes other people, human and Faunus."

EMRD stood amongst a few dozen other teams in Beacon's combat hall, which doubled as an assembly area for ceremonies such as the assignment of teams. Andrew kept an eye on everyone he could see, trying to gauge the student's abilities and skill. He couldn't divine much, which wasn't really surprising, but first impressions were always useful for beginning strategies in combat practice.

"Unlike in many of the schools you have already attended," Professor Goodwitch continued. "We will not have a ramp up period for combat practice. We will not wait for anyone lagging behind to catch up. Beacon academy only accepts the best so you are expected to be able to fight well." Andrew nodded at this, as did his teammates and many of the assembled students.

"We will be starting today by having random bouts to test your individual combat skills." Goodwitch continued. "These bouts will help your teammates and leaders understand your personal level of skill and allow you to start learning how combine your talents and work together. Do you understand?" There was a rumble of agreement from the gathered teams. Goodwitch nodded and said, "Then we will determine who our first combatants will be. Once the fighters have been chosen, everyone will move to the seating above the combat arena."

Glynda tapped the screen of her scroll and images of the gathered students began to flash across it. After a few seconds, the cycling stopped and she was presented with two pictures. She tapped the screen again and a pair of monitors activated behind her, revealing the two combatants.

"Ossidiana Serra and Zinn James, please stay here in the combat arena. Everyone else, please move up to the seating above the arena." The gathered students moved and they talked amongst themselves until they got seated. Then their eyes were drawn to the arena, where the boy and girl stood, facing each other. Professor Goodwitch moved back as well and told the students to begin.

The match was interesting to say the least. The girl, Ossidiana, had some real talent and forced the boy, Zinn, into a defensive position almost immediately. The battle soon turned into a game of cat and mouse as the girl forced Zinn around the arena until he finally got upset enough to try and counter attack. What happened next happened so fast that Andrew only saw part of the attack that sent the boy off of his feet and sprawling several feet away from her. Reginald, who was sitting beside Andrew, whistled in appreciation. Goodwitch stopped the match there and Ossidiana helped Zinn to his feet. The two left the arena and Glynda called down another pair.

The class went on like that for a while. Professor Goodwitch would call down a pair of students at random and they would do battle. Sometimes the fights would be long, others would be short. Andrew took mental notes as each fight progressed, passing along comments or tidbits to his teammates who were doing the same. Only Marie seemed to be entirely focused on the battles. She didn't even appear to acknowledge Andrew's presence. Andrew assumed that she was still upset over what he had said earlier in the day.

"We have time for one last match." Professor Goodwitch said and she tapped her scroll once more. After a few seconds the images of the combatants appeared on the monitors behind the teacher. Andrew raised an eyebrow when he saw who they were. The next fight was certainly going to be interesting, to say the least. If Professor Goodwitch was surprised it didn't show in her face or in her voice when she spoke.

"Would Andrew Deneem and Marie Bordeaux please enter the combat arena?" Emily gave Andrew and Marie a worried look as they both rose from their seats.

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" She asked the pair. "You're teammates after all." Andrew shrugged in response and Marie stayed silent. Reginald leaned back in his seat and stretched.

"It'll be fine, Emily." he said. "Look at it this way, you'll be able to take notes on both of them at once. And they'll be able to get a feel for how the other fights." Emily didn't stop being nervous, but she settled back into her seat as her partner and Andrew moved down to the arena.

It wasn't long before the two teammates stood facing each other in front of Goodwitch. Emily bit her lip as she watched her teammates face each other. Both of them had assumed neutral expressions. They didn't seem to see themselves as teammates anymore. They were merely opponents, obstacles that had to be removed one way or another. It wasn't unnoticed either. A silence fell around this bout that hadn't been present for the others.

Each of the previous rounds had had a respectful silence and appreciation for the the combatants, but this round was different. The silence seemed to press in around the audience and even a pin, if one were dropped, wouldn't dare make a sound when it hit the floor. The silence was making Emily uncomfortable.

"I don't like this." she said in a nearly inaudible whisper. "I don't like this at all." Reginald leaned over and kept his voice equally low.

"It'll be fine." He said, attempting to be reassuring. "They're both tough and it'll be a chance for them to feel each other out. Heck, it might even break the tension that came up this morning."

"That's why I'm worried." Emily said, her voice rising slightly. A student in front of them turned his head and gave them a look that said 'Stop talking'. Emily shot him a look back that would've made Grimm run for the hills. The boy balked and quickly turned back around. Emily returned to her conversation. "I'm worried that they might try to kill each other. This isn't right, we're supposed to be a team. We're supposed to work together not try to kill one another." Reginald considered.

"Alright." He said after a moment. "If things get too out of hand and Goodwitch doesn't try to stop it, I'll stop the fight myself. Agreed?"

"You're sure?" Emily asked. Reginald smiled.

"I'd never break a promise with a lady." Emily smiled back.

"Thank you, Reginald."

"My pleasure." He replied. Just then, Goodwitch spoke.

"Begin" she said, simply.

* * *

Andrew moved first, and fast. In a quick movement, he pulled his quarter staff and struck at Marie's side.

Marie acted with similar speed, using her armored arm to block the strike. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise when her arm passed through the weapon as if it was simply vapor. Her eyes spotted another quarterstaff swinging low at her legs, attempting to trip her and break her stance.

The human turned her movement into a cartwheel, flipping her body over the sneak attack and attempting to come back to her feet off to his side.

Andrew barely hesitated. He let the low swing go under her feet as she flipped and with the same motion brought the other end of his staff into her vulnerable body. Marie spotted her opening too late and took the strike square into her chest. Her aura absorbed the damage, but it didn't prevent physics from taking over and sending her back a considerable distance. Andrew was strong. Really strong.

Marie skidded to a stop in a crouch. She looked up and saw Andrew leveling his staff at her as if it was a rifle. The fighter's instincts took over and she rolled to the left. The round whizzed past her and struck the ground where she had been only a second before. She started running as the wolf continued firing at her. Andrew wasn't just strong. He was also a good shot. Many of the rounds he fired would've met their mark if Marie hadn't extended her blades and begun to deflect the rounds.

Andrew's strategy wasn't hard to figure out. He had seen her in the Emerald Forest fight exclusively at close range. If he kept her back with rifle fire, then she wouldn't be able to take him down and eventually she would wear out and he would win. Simple, but effective… in theory. The only flaw was that he either hadn't seen, or hadn't fully appreciated, the extent of her own skill in combat. Well, that was his loss.

Marie activated her semblance, pouring power into her legs, which began to glow grey with the power from her aura.

The fighter suddenly switched directions and moved with enough speed to simply be a blur. Andrew's next shot went wide and Marie rushed at him, clipping him in the side with one of her blades as she passed.

Andrew hadn't been idle. He had started to evade before she had even reached him, resulting in his injury being only a graze that his aura took with ease. His dodge, however, hadn't been fast enough to get completely away, and he hadn't accounted for the amount of force behind her charge either.

Her strike forced Andrew into a hard spin, knocking him off balance and forcing him to use his weapon to steady himself. Marie slid to a stop and the glow moved from her legs to her arms as she charged at him once again, this time at normal speed.

Andrew looked up and saw her coming at him again. He brought up his staff in a thrust, but not quickly enough. Marie withdrew her blades and swatted the staff aside with one arm, the metal bracer offering more than enough protection from the weapon, and swung her other fist towards the Faunus' head.

But, then Andrew's body seemed to bend in an odd manner. It was almost as if he was both standing there about to take the hit and spinning aside in order to avoid the strike. Her brain hurt just looking at the confusing image.

Her glowing fist made contact with Andrew's head and passed straight through it. Marie eyes barely had time to widen before she felt Andrew's staff strike her in the side.

Marie rolled with the attack, mitigating the damage she received from the blow, but not by much. The human backed away with the force of the strike and quickly dropped low, sweeping her leg into Andrew's.

The Faunus leapt back to avoid the hit and brought his weapon to bear, this time Marie saw the weapon shift into the mid-range rifle. She recognized the styling of the weapon from time on shooting ranges with her parents, before she had gone into martial arts.

Marie activated her Semblance again, pouring power into her legs. She used her low position to the ground to quickly brace and take off running at high speed. Andrew's shot struck where she'd been seconds earlier and Marie didn't waste time. Andrew was predicting her movements well, what she needed to do was something he wouldn't expect. She skidded to a halt before she reached the wall of the arena and turned to face Andrew. She had an idea.

* * *

Andrew blinked in surprise when Marie suddenly stopped her running and rose to her full height, which wasn't much. Her back was completely straight and the grey light had left her legs. What was the girl up to? He'd been countering her movements through a combination of previous observation, his semblance, and luck. Her sudden speed had been an extreme surprise and had been giving her an edge in the fight. But her actions now didn't make any sense since she couldn't fight at all at that range.

He took an experimental shot and the maroonette used her bracer to deflect the round. He quickly fired several shots and the girl repeated her defense. Andrew realized that she must be trying to make him waste his shots and force him to either move in close or make him reload and possibly drop his guard for an instant. Then she'd use that speed ability of hers to get in close in that instant. The wolf smiled. If she thought that would work, there was no reason not to play along.

Andrew began to fire again, keeping track of his shots. Marie continued to deflect the rounds, now beginning to move forward slightly as she did. She was beginning to prepare her charge. Andrew kept up the ruse for a little bit longer, just so that Marie would be confident in her plan.

Right as Marie took another step and her body began to adjust into a position to charge, the Faunus spun his staff around and fired a round behind himself and at an angle, launching himself into the air in an arc that would plant him right behind where she was standing. When Marie charged, she wouldn't hit anything and he would have a clear opening to exploit. The way he was flying through the air meant that he would have to turn when he landed, but that would take no time at all.

Andrew landed and turned to lift his weapon to fire and was hit in the face by something that felt like a freight train. The Faunus' feet left the ground as he was hurled through the air and straight into the arena wall. The impact with the wall forced the air from his lungs and he felt his aura flare and nearly burst from the force of the strike and impact with the wall. Andrew slumped to the ground and he would've risen again, except that his body felt like it was weighted down by a mountain of bricks. He dimly heard Goodwitch call the match as he managed to lift his head and look at his opponent.

Marie stood over Andrew's prone form, panting from the effort of the fight and the use of her semblance. That last punch had taken a lot out of her. She glared down defiantly over him.

"I am not some pampered little princess who can get by living off of the work of better people." She said between panting breaths. "Don't ever forget that. I've worked to get where I am today, and I've been helped along by better people that I'll never be able to make proud." Andrew met the fighter's eyes and a fog seemed to be lifted from between the two of them. The wolf took a deep breath and said a pair of words that he rarely ever spoke.

"I'm sorry." He said. He saw the pain and the drive in Marie's eyes and he now understood a little of the line that he had crossed with her that morning. "I'm just not a fan of being told what to do. I've had too many uncomfortable experiences. Still, it's not an excuse. I shouldn't have said that." Marie smiled at her opponent and held out her hand.

"Just as long as we know where we stand. I won't push you, and you don't attack my standing. I'm on your side, even if it doesn't look it."

"Agreed," Andrew replied and grabbed the maroonette's hand. The fighter hauled the Faunus to his feet just before Emily shot out from the locker area and grabbed her two teammates each in a fierce one-armed hug.

"Don't you two ever scare me like that again," she said, barely holding back tears. "I was so scared you two would kill each other." Marie and Andrew didn't say anything in reply. They just let Emily squeeze them in her hug. Professor Goodwitch pointedly cleared her throat. Emily jumped slightly in surprise. She had forgotten entirely about the professor.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled and led her teammates back to their seats. Once they sat Goodwitch addressed everyone.

"I hope you were all paying attention to the bouts. These are your first impressions of your teammates and fellow students outside of the Emerald Forest. Remember this and, team leaders, be sure to find ways to improve yourselves and your teammates. You're going to be the protectors of the world. You need to be at your best. You are dismissed."

 **Author's note: So, how was the combat? Better than before? Worse? Let me know in the comments. I'd love to be able to improve my combat writing. And if anyone would care to guess on why Andrew and Marie started off on the wrong foot, take a guess in a review. I'm curious to see if I'm being obvious or not. Until next time! Ciao!**


	17. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Monsters." The large professor said to the gathered students. "Demons." He added, drawing out the 'e' in 'demon'. "Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey. Ha-ha!"

The entire class was so quiet that a hidden cricket could be heard from somewhere in the classroom. Professor Peter Port, the rather round, dark red clothed professor of the Grimm Studies class paused to take in the bored silence that was currently pervading the classroom.

"Ah." Professor Port said, more to himself than to anyone else in the classroom, before continuing. It might have dawned on him just how much attention, or rather, the lack thereof, he was gaining from his lecture. Or maybe he had simply lost his train of thought. It was impossible to tell. Port continued. "And you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying."

Reginald leaned towards Andrew and said, "This is going to be a long class, isn't it?"

Andrew ignored him and adjusted his position in his chair. He did, however, have to agree with Reginald. The professor's voice already promised the blissful oblivion of sleep to anyone who wasn't prepared.

"Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms," professor Port said. "Are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces."

This was true. Although Grimm had been known to attack animals over territorial disputes, they mostly attacked humans and Faunus for apparently no other reason than that they simply could. It was frightening, all things considered. A type of creature that solely hunted people. And also well made for the task, as shown by the lack of significant expansion outside of the four kingdoms.

"And that's where we come in." Professor Port said. "Huntsmen. Huntresses." He made an odd clicking sound with his mouth, at least, Andrew assumed it was his mouth. It was a little hard to tell with the bushiness of his mustache.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what you ask? Why, the VERY WORLD!"

Andrew thought that bit was a little dramatic. He was half tempted to make a comment. Before he could, however, a student in the class yelled "Aiee-yap."

Everyone else in the class looked at the culprit, who seemed to realize what he'd done and sunk back to his seat face tinged slightly pink at the concentrated attention suddenly directed at him.

Professor Port kept going. "That is what you are training to become. But first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man."

"Spruce Willis?" Reginald asked just loud enough for his teammates to hear.

Andrew managed to hold in his snort as Port said, "Me."

"Oh." Reginald said and then began doodling on his paper.

Andrew glanced at his teammates as the professor began to pontificate. Reg was doodling and Marie leaned slightly back in her chair, her arms crossed in front of her. She was sitting so still that Andrew was sure someone could've carved a statue of her. Either that, or she knew how to sleep with her eyes open. The wolf made a mental note to check that night in order to be sure. Emily sat straight in her chair and he could tell that she was trying to be mature as the team's leader.

With nothing better to do, Andrew tried to listen to what the teacher was saying.

"Despite smelling of cabbages, my father was a wise man. 'Peter' he told me…"

Deciding to find something better to occupy his time, Andrew glanced around the class and tried to figure out how many students might have fallen asleep already. As he glanced around the room he spotted a familiar red cloak.

Andrew recognized Ruby Rose from the team assignment ceremony. He hadn't realized that the four girls of team RWBY were in the class as well. The girl seemed to writing energetically, until she lifted her paper to show her team. Judging from their reactions, he assumed it was something funny she had whipped up in the moment to break the boredom of the lecture.

That hadn't been what Andrew had expected of the younger girl. He'd half expected her to be some kind of genius in order to have both gotten into Beacon early and to have become a team leader. Port emphatically cleared his throat, making the girls fall silent and snapping Andrew out of his thoughts. When everyone's attention was on him once again, the professor continued.

"In the end the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high. Celebrated as a hero." He gave a the class bow and said, "The moral of this story? A true huntsman must be honorable. A true huntsman must be dependable. A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise."

Andrew was paying less attention to Port and more attention to Weiss Schnee. Weiss was starting to vibrate with irritation at her leader and Andrew was beginning to wonder if she would lose it right there in the lecture hall.

"Heads up." He muttered to Reginald. "A bomb might go off."

"Huh?" The ram asked and Andrew nodded to Weiss.

"So," Port asked. "Who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss Schnee's hand shot up so fast that Andrew only saw a blur. It was actually more impressive than it seemed at first glance. Andrew was rather surprised that Weiss could contain herself so well. He'd have expected someone with such a comfortable life to explode at the first sign of immaturity.

"I do, sir." She said through gritted teeth.

"Of course you do." Andrew said under his breath. "Wouldn't want someone to steal your thunder, princess."

Marie gave him a stern look and Andrew lifted his hands a little and gave her one back.

"Well then," Professor Port said. "Let's find out. Step forward, and face your opponent."

It didn't take long for Weiss to get changed into her combat gear and prepare to fight. As Weiss lifted her rapier in a combat stance, her team mates called out encouragement.

"Go Weiss!" The blonde, Yang, called, lifting her fist into the air as she cheered.

"Fight well!" The ebony haired Blake said, waving a tiny team RWBY flag on a stick.

"Yeah! Represent team RWBY!" Ruby Rose shouted, her voice full of enthusiasm. Weiss lowered her rapier and glared at Ruby.

"Ruby," the heiress scolded. "I'm trying to focus!" Ruby seemed to deflate a little as she responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said. Professor Port interrupted.

"All right." The portly man said. "Let the match, begin!" He swung his blunderbuss axe in an arc that intersected the padlock on the cage. The lock split and flew away from the cage, bringing the front down to the floor to reveal a black, boar-like creature with burning red eyes, twin tusks, and covered in white, ceramic-like plates. It was a creature of Grimm, a boarbotusk. The monster locked onto Weiss and charged forward in an attack.

Weiss immediately evaded to the side and tried to strike the Grimm with her rapier.

While Weiss fought the boarbotusk Andrew analyzed the scene. He watched how Weiss moved, thought, and reacted. Several things rapidly became clear.

Her rapier was effective, but limited in the damage it could deal on its own, sacrificing damage in order to stay light and allow Weiss to use her high dexterity. Without the weapon, she was vulnerable and almost useless.

Her Semblance was apparently an assortment of glyphs that she could use for multiple purposes. Andrew idly wondered just how versatile those glyphs could be. He tucked the information away for later. It was bound to be useful at some point.

As the fight progressed, he noticed the way Ruby continuously tried to cheer her teammate on. He also saw Weiss' irritation at Ruby's attempt to encourage her. Not that the Schnee was trying to hide it. She even went so far as to shout at the red head in the middle of the fight when Ruby pointed out the Grimm's vulnerability. That being said, Weiss immediately put the advice to good use, using her glyphs to stun the creature with its own momentum and then launching herself with enough speed to skewer the Grimm's underbelly. The only spot on its body that was bare of armored plates.

"Bravo!" Professor Port called. "Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress in training."

"If you say so." Andrew muttered. Marie shot him another look. No one else seemed to notice.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and, stay vigilant! Class dismissed."

"Team RWBY is going to have a problem if this keeps up for long." The wolf said as EMRD left the class.

"Yeah." Marie said. "I don't get why she has such a problem with Ruby. If Ozpin's the one who chose her than she should be more than qualified to lead."

"She'll be fine." Reginald said. "She didn't let her age stop her I doubt Weiss will put her too much off track."

"I hope you're right." Emily said and looked back towards the class room.

"We should get moving." Marie said. "Professor Port's readings aren't going to read themselves. Not to mention our other assignments."

The team went towards their dorm, Emily lagging slightly behind.


	18. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was late when Emily slipped out of her dorm room. Years of dance and learning foot movement had taught her how to move without making a sound, so she didn't wake her teammates. She wandered around the dorms aimlessly, her Faunus eyes allowing her to see perfectly in the dark.

She was worried. This first day hadn't been what she was expecting. Well, it had, but her actions during the day hadn't been what she had expected.

When Professor Ozpin had given her the position of team leader, she had been dumbstruck. She'd never led in anything before and she was scared of the implications that the title had.

Emily exited the dorm building and made sure that there weren't any teachers around. She wasn't quite sure if she was allowed to wander around campus or not. Granted, it wasn't like she was actually doing anything wrong. Walking around just helped her work through certain emotions.

As she exited the dorm building Emily made her way into the courtyard and took a moment to enjoy the gentle breeze that the night brought. She used her Semblance and lifted herself up into the air, alighting atop of the statue that stood in the center of the courtyard.

The cat looked up at the shattered moon and tried to sort out her jumbled feelings. Primarily, she wasn't sure how much she should do as a leader. Should she only dictate in combat or was it something she needed to do constantly, fulfilling a parental role that wasn't normally there? Or was she completely off track on what a team leader was supposed to do?

The former wasn't something that would happen constantly and the latter was something she wasn't sure she was comfortable with. More than likely she was completely off track and would likely only make a fool of herself.

Why had Ozpin chosen her? Marie seemed to be the better leader material. The maroonette had confidence in herself and seemed to know exactly what she was doing and what she believed in. Emily doubted that Marie would've worried herself nearly sick if she and Andrew had gone into the ring instead. Marie probably would've been taking notes or something. Devising potential strategies to use in future combat situations, not staring at the fight feeling nauseated from nerves. Either that, or she would've stood up and spoke her mind to Professor Goodwitch. Just the memory of the two fighting brought on a wave of worry that seemed to strike her in the gut.

It didn't seem right somehow, two people who were supposed to be on the same team having to fight each other after only just becoming teammates. Why had Goodwitch allowed it? Wouldn't such conflict just cause more problems than benefits? The more questions that came into her head, the more unsure the Faunus felt.

And then there was Professor Port's class. Emily had caught Marie silently chastising Andrew in out of the corner of her eye. Wasn't that something _she_ should've done? The team was supposed to be her responsibility after all. And, judging by what had been said in the morning, Marie didn't appear to have gotten much sleep. Should she keep an eye on that as well? And then there was Andrew's attitude to her in the morning to consider. How was she supposed to handle situations like that? She really couldn't afford to have her authority attacked like that. Or could she? Was it that big of a deal?

Emily pressed her palms into her face and tried to calm that doubts spinning and swirling around in her head. She felt slightly dizzy and suddenly had a little more respect for leaves stuck in a gust of wind. This had to be what it felt like.

"I'm just a leaf on the wind." she muttered. "Watch how I soar."

"Having trouble sleeping?" A girl outside of Emily's sight asked.

Emily jumped and looked behind her. Another girl was walking out of the dorm building. She couldn't place her name but recognized her from one of the day's classes. The girl had dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to suck the moonlight out of the air. Her hair had a ribbon woven through it that matched the grass green tailored shirt that the girl wore.

"Um, yeah. Just trying to sort something out." Emily replied awkwardly, experiencing a twinge of embarrassment at being found.

"What are you sorting out?" The girl asked conversationally. There was just a hint of concern in her voice as well that Emily was touched to hear.

"Oh, it's nothing." Emily said quickly. She was fairly sure that it wouldn't be smart to talk about her concerns to a stranger, even if she was a fellow student.

"I don't think it could be nothing if you're having trouble sleeping because of it." The girl said reasonably. Emily sighed. She had a point. And she was offering to help in a small way by listening. What harm could it do?

"I just…" she said and then paused, trying to figure out how to say what she was feeling. "I just don't know how well I'm doing as a team leader." The girl raised her eyebrows.

"Wow. That's big."

"Yeah." The cat said. "It is."

"What seems to be the problem?" The girl asked, a bit of amusement came through her concern. "It's only been one day after all."

"Yeah, I know." Emily said. As she spoke, she gently dropped down off of the statue, deciding that it was impractical to have a prolonged conversation at different heights. "It's just, I don't know how much I should be leading, you know? Do I need to be a leader all of the time and watch my team all the time or do I only need to when it's necessary like in combat?"

"Well," the girl said. "I really wouldn't know to be honest. I'm not our team's leader."

"Which team are you in?"

"FRST. You?"

"EMRD."

"Oh." The girl said. "That means Andrew Deneem is on your team, right?"

"Yeah." Emily replied. "What does that have to do with it?"

"I actually knew Andrew." The girl said with a sigh as she leaned on the base of the statue. "From before Beacon."

"You did? I thought he didn't have any friends."

"He didn't." The girl said. "But I know why he didn't. And, more importantly, I know why that's part of your problem." Emily gave the girl a confused look.

"What makes you think that is part of my problem?"

"Do you know what Andrew was called back at his last school?" The girl asked.

"No." The Faunus said.

"Everyone called him The Lone Wolf." Emily stiffened at the name.

"Seems kind of derogatory isn't it?"

"I know." The girl said sympathetically raising her hands. "Because he's a wolf Faunus it sounds like a racial slur, but I'm serious when I say that it was something he encouraged."

"He encouraged it?" Emily asked, her voicing rising slightly. The girl nodded solemnly.

"He didn't make any attempt at making friends back there." She said. "All he ever did was focus on his training and everything else wasn't worth his time. He has a bit of a problem with authority because of it. If it gets in the way of his drive it becomes a problem. It was kind of sad, really. A couple of us tried to help, but he just wouldn't listen. He said something about us 'holding him back' and that we were 'being too controlling'." Emily was starting to feel nervous. His attitude toward her earlier that morning came back to her mind.

"Are you sure?" She asked uneasily. "He seemed alright to me."

"Let me ask you this then." The dark haired girl said. "Has said anything that talks down to people who are well off or in leadership positions?" Emily thought over the day.

"He made a comment on the side about Weiss Schnee in class." Emily said.

The girl pointed at Emily and said, "There you go. That's the first step."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Well, Weiss is a girl of status and power, being the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and all. What reason would he have to comment on her during a class? Even considering what her family has done to the Faunus, which isn't right, it has nothing to do with how she might fight or act in class. Don't you agree?"

"I'm… not sure." Emily said, trying to remember the details of the event. Had that been the motive behind his statements? Or had it been something else? He had also acted aggressively toward Marie after she had tried to tell him to be a little more professional. He'd also acted out against her when she and tried to get him to open up. Emily's head was starting to hurt form trying to sort it all out.

"Trust me, sweetie." The girl said. "This is how it starts. Next he might start questioning your actions and if you get in his way, he might even turn violent."

"That doesn't sound like him." Emily said hopefully. The girl blinked.

"You don't know?" She asked, greater concern starting to enter her voice.

"Know what?"

"He attacked some of his fellow students before coming here. My team's leader was one of them. He told me all about it. Andrew suddenly attacked him when he found out he was coming to Beacon as well."

"He what?!" Emily exclaimed and the girl nodded.

"It's true. Andrew broke his nose. That's what your problem is. Andrew's inner nature is making you doubt your ability to lead. He's a loner, and he always will be. Why do you think Ozpin chose you and not him?" Emily stood there in stunned silence. It couldn't be why. Could it? The girl walked over to Emily and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Be careful around him. And if you need help, don't let him stop you from coming to me for help. Alright?" Emily gave a dazed nod and the girl gave her the number for her scroll.

"Let me know if you have any problems with him and I'll help you." The girl said and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Emily said and the girl stopped. "I don't even know your name." The Faunus said.

"Terra." The girl said with a small smile and a gleam in her eye. "Terra North."


	19. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Hurray! A new chapter! In a surprising twist, I actually intentionally delayed in posting this chapter. I wanted to realistically give a sense of the time jump between the events of last chapter and the events of this chapter. That and I hoped to build a kind of suspense and allow you all time to make guesses on what might happen as a result of last chapter. Well, if you made a guess, now you'll get your answer. If not, you'll find out anyway. :) Let us see what trouble has brewed.**

 **Chapter 14**

Awkward. That was the only way Andrew could describe his first week and a half at Beacon with his new team. Awkward.

It wasn't even the problem he had expected, either. He had understood that things would be different. He had understood that he would be a member of a team and would need to learn how to interact and work with them. He had understood that it would take time and effort to become a cohesive unit. He had understood and prepared to accept it.

What he hadn't expected was a kind of stubborn resistance from reality. After all of his preparation to at least try and change and become a team player and the breaking of the tension between himself and Marie in that fight, he hadn't expected reality to drop a bomb in his lap. A bomb that had taken the shape of Emily Virden.

Andrew's initial impression of Emily had been that she was a nice enough girl and that she had an incredible amount of hidden power and potential. She had seemed to be a gentle soul who could make hard combat appear graceful and elegant in a way that few others could. He had expected that she would start her role of team leader tentatively, but quickly grow into the role that she had been given by Ozpin.

What had actually happened was a firm and steadfast refusal to deal with him in any possible way. After their first day, Emily had seemed to rapidly grow distant from Andrew. It was almost as if she was afraid of him. It was as if she was afraid that he would suddenly attack her for no reason and so she had taken to avoiding him with a surprising amount of skill.

The wolf groaned into his history text book and glanced sideways at Reginald, who was studying with him. Another thing he hadn't expected was that the history teacher would be playing hardball lectures from day one. History had never been Andrew's strong suit, except when it came to wars, and his ineptitude was exacerbated by the fact that Dr. Oobleck spoke about as fast as he moved. The man reminded Andrew of a pinball in a machine, zipping and bouncing all around the front of the classroom.

Andrew shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He was trying to study the notes he had taken and the assigned readings, hoping that some part of his brain would absorb the information. His mind, however, kept moving back to Emily and her strange behavior. Eventually he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Has Emily been acting strange to you?" He asked his partner, keeping his voice down. They were studying in the library.

"Could you be more specific?" Reginald asked back, peering over the book that was propped in front of him.

"She almost seems scared of me." Andrew said.

"I can hardly blame her there." Reginald said, his eyes focused on the book in front of him. "You're a scary dude. The yellow eyes, the love of meat. Heck, if we shaved your head and gave you an eyepatch I'd be expecting you to speak in a bad impression of a pirate and wanting to get the kingdom of Vale to join your zombie crew." The sarcasm was hard to miss in Reginald's voice.

Andrew rolled his eyes and reached past Reginald's textbook. He yanked away the _X-Ray and Vav_ comic that had been hidden by the history text.

"Can you be serious for five minutes?" Andrew growled just loud enough for some nearby students to shush him. He ignored them. Reginald looked hurt.

"I wasn't finished with that." He said pathetically.

"And you're going to continue not being finished until you get serious," the wolf replied. Reginald sighed and looked at Andrew.

"All right," he said. "Yes, I've noticed and no, I don't know why she might be avoiding you. She's been acting really skittish lately and it's starting to become a problem. Marie's been doing a lot of heavy lifting for the team because Emily keeps vanishing. Have you talked to her?"

"Were you paying attention a minute ago?" Andrew said. "She avoids me like I'm a sign of the apocalypse."

"Well, she has to go back to the dorm at some point." Reginald said. "She does live there after all. Wait for her in our room or try to catch her in the hall. That's two places she's guaranteed to be at some point during the day. Unless you'd like to corner her the bathroom." The blonde gave Andrew a look and added, "I think you'd just make more problems if you tried that approach though."

"Do you honestly think that'll work?" Andrew asked.

"What? Cornering her in the bathroom?" Reginald countered. Andrew swatted at him with the comic. Reginald flashed his signature grin as he blocked the blow.

"Confronting her. Shouldn't you or Marie do it?"

"We're not the ones she has a problem with." Reginald said seriously and pointed at Andrew. "You are. It's going to have to be you who talks to her. At least make an attempt first." His finger moved until it was pointing at the comic book that Andrew still held hostage. "Can I have that back now?"

Andrew let out an exasperated breath and handed over the comic. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Reginald said in a sarcastically offended tone. He continued as he restored the comic book to its original position. "I know many of the ways of the fair sex."

"Sure you do." Andrew said dryly and left to go back to the dorm.

* * *

Andrew was lucky. Emily was alone in their room when he got back. As soon as she saw him, she got off of her bed and said, "I'm sorry. I've got to go and see if Professor Peaches is free. I've got a question about the assignment."

Andrew lifted a hand. "Hang on." He said. His voice must have been a little harsher than he intended because Emily almost imperceptibly flinched. "I need to ask you a question." He added in a more reasonable tone of voice.

"But I need-"

"We don't have an assignment from Professor Peaches." Andrew interrupted. "We've got readings and work from Dr. Oobleck which I was just working on with Reginald. I just want to know what's wrong."

"Why would you think something's wrong?" Emily asked. "I'm fine."

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Andrew asked.

"I'm not. Why would you think that?" Emily replied. Andrew sighed.

"You're not a very good liar, Emily. Look, did I do something wrong? Because if I did, I'm sorry. But you've got to let me know what the problem is." Emily started to look defensive.

"Why are you being so pushy? I don't have a problem with you."

"I've got several days of evidence to disagree with that." Andrew countered. "After our first day you've been avoiding me as if I was going to hurt you. I'm worried."

"Are you?" Emily asked, her voice suddenly very cold. Andrew was taken aback.

"Of course I am. You're my teammate. Our leader. Why wouldn't I be worried?"

"That's not what I've heard. So, why don't you tell me the truth?" Emily shot back. Andrew started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Heard?" He asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with me." Emily said, her voice getting harsher. "You know what I'm talking about."

"No." Andrew said, his words becoming clipped. "I don't."

"You're lying again." Emily said. "Shall I refresh your memory? Remind you of the student you attacked after you found out he was going to Beacon? About how you isolated yourself from everyone at your last school even when they tried to reach out? Is any of this ringing a bell?" Andrew felt his face harden at the words.

"Who told you that?" He asked frostily.

"Does it matter?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Andrew said, his voice becoming frigid. "It does, because it's not true and it's not anyone else's right to be discussing my past like that."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now who's been telling you this?"

"A friend." Emily said. "Now, I'd like to leave."

"I'm not finished." Andrew said, his stance shifting slightly out of sheer reflex. Emily noticed and fear flashed in her eyes. Fear followed by fury.

"I am." Emily stated. Andrew caught only a brief flicker of pale green light before something invisible slammed into his gut, sending the air from his lungs and knocking him backward. Emily didn't waste any time leaving the room.

Andrew lay on the ground, fuming and trying to remember how to breathe. There were only two people in Beacon who could've told her about his loss of control at his old school: Professor Ozpin and Darren Forester.

He managed to get up and prepared to head straight for FRST's room and beat the snot out of Darren up again. It was bad enough last time but he was really asking for it this time.

Andrew took two steps and froze, remembering what Emily had told him.

 _Shall I refresh your memory? Remind you of the student you attacked after you found out he was going to Beacon?_ But he hadn't known that Darren had been accepted until they found each other on the airship. Emily's words didn't make any sense. Why would she assume that he'd known that Darren was going? More important, why would she assume that it would be his motivation to attack? Something wasn't right here.

He went back into his dorm and sat down on his bed, reviewing everything he knew about Darren. An indeterminate amount of time passed and Andrew hadn't made any progress. The whole situation didn't make sense. Darren was many things, but subtle was not one of them. He usually tackled problems in the most direct manner possible. Simplicity was his strong suit and he was good at making it work to his advantage. That must be why he was made leader of his team.

Andrew idly wondered how he was handling the mantle of responsibility. Maybe he was having trouble handling… and then it clicked.

Two members of FRST, not one, had personal issues with him. Darren, who wanted payback for his butt-kicking, and Terra. Darren wasn't the kind of guy for a subtle attack. He was more hands on and the extent of his subtly was in calling the cops to do the work for him.

Terra, on the other hand, _never_ acted directly. It wasn't in her nature. She preferred to let others do her work. Just like before, she was using others to make him miserable when he slipped away.

The problem with that was that it was hard to find any real reason to come back at her. He need to think of this like a game of chess. He called the pieces to his mind, the figures arranging themselves to match his situation. He controlled one side, and Terra controlled the other. Right now, she was using one of his own pieces against him. She was forcing Emily and, by extension, him to act in a particular manner. What he needed to do was to get Emily back on his side. Ozpin's words came back to him. _Not everyone will think like you do, Mr. Deneem. And while steps are being taken between our two races, what you do has an impact. Remember that._

The words made even more sense now. What had he been expecting by coming on strong to Emily like that? Letting his temper control him was only going to drive Emily more toward Terra. He didn't want that. No one should be subject to _her_ whims, no one. But how could he persuade Emily to listen to him? He could only come up with one answer, and he didn't like it.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his scroll and called Reginald and Marie.

"Reg, Marie?" He said when the call went through. "Could you two find Emily and get her to come back to the dorm? Tell her I'll explain everything, all right? She should understand." He hung up and let out a breath. This wasn't going to be easy.

 **Author's note: Let me know what you thought of the chapter. I meant to ask this before, but now's still a good time. What are your thoughts on Terra? Last chapter was the second time you all got to see her and I'm curious how the second encounter struck you all. Don't forget to drop a review, favorite, and follow! I'll see you next chapter! Ciao!**


	20. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: So... It's been awhile. For everyone who's been waiting all this time for this chapter, I feel I owe you an explanation. I have this issue where if I work on a story, it takes all of my creative attention. That's why my other story hasn't gotten much attention. The same thing happened here. I had a creative writing course this semester and it focused my attention on an original story that I've been working on for a long time. Before and after that, my muse decided to take a long vacation from anything close to what I needed to work on in order to post. But a couple of weeks ago, I was suddenly hit with an inspiration that helped me solve a problem I was encountering for a couple of chapters from now.  
To make a long story short: I'm sorry. There's nothing more aggravating than waiting this long for a story, especially when it was a more consistent affair before.  
The good news, however, is that I have enough material to post much more often now and I don't have school to hold me back. I WANT to post more often, and I really want you all to enjoy what I've made. I have the opportunity to tell these character's stories again and to show off what I've learned when it comes to writing (which should become more apparent the further into the story we go).  
To make a short story shorter: Buenos Dias, busters. Guess who's back?**

 **Chapter 15**

Andrew sat at the edge of his bed and waited for his team to arrive. He made a conscious effort to keep his breathing even and controlled. He had to come clean, completely. It was the only way he could think of to help Emily understand what Terra had told her. Simply thinking Terra's name caused a wave of anger to course through him and he fought it back with his breathing exercise, which only caused the anger to simmer at the back of his mind.

He called his old chess board to his mind and began moving the pieces in a game. He moved each piece with rational purpose, with no place for anger or emotion in the game. His temper faded away as he played.

The slow, steady breathing and the mental chess game helped keep his temper back, but it didn't help him sit still. He stood up and walked to the window. The curtains had been pulled away, presumably by Emily before he had botched his confrontation with her. The sun had set and the shattered moon was rising steadily into the sky.

Some time had passed since Emily had stormed out over his stunned body. The blow had been completely unexpected and surprisingly powerful. He idly wondered how she'd done it. As far as he knew she didn't have any Dust on her person. That would mean it had been her Semblance, not that that told him anything. He still had no idea what she'd _actually_ done. All he'd heard was a whoosh and then something had knocked him over. There were a lot of different ways someone could create such an effect.

The door opened behind him and people moved into the room. Andrew didn't turn around, but he heard a chair creak as someone settled into it and someone else sat down on a bed. Then a powerful silence pressed in around them. Andrew drew in a deep breath and slowly released it.

"Ask your questions," he said in a clam voice. "I really don't know what you want to know."

"I really don't think I need to ask you anything," Emily replied. Her voice was also one of controlled calm.

Andrew guessed that she was standing by the door and hadn't sat down. It made sense. If things went wrong, then she would have a quick exit. Then again, if things went wrong in a _different_ way, then he was also standing in front of a convenient exit. She had sent him flying once already.

The image of a pawn came to his mind. The stout figure standing precariously close to two pieces that could slide over and knock him out of the game.

He brushed aside the dark thought. Violence wasn't the goal here. He had to keep those thoughts away. Honesty was the key. The strategy to winning back control of the game.

"I think I understand the situation just fine," Emily continued. Andrew let out a short breath that sounded like a quick laugh.

"If you really thought that," he countered, "then why are you here?"

"Because Reginald and Marie asked me to come. They're my teammates."

"Aren't I your teammate too?" Andrew asked. There was a pause and he heard Emily shift her weight uncomfortably.

"Fine," she finally said. "You made your point there. What did you want to talk about?"

"The attack you mentioned," Andrew said evenly. "I'd like to know how much you know about it. Is there anything you left out when you dropped it on me?"

"No," Emily said firmly. "I told you everything I knew. Which was more than what you'd told me, I'll note." A ghost of a smile flickered on Andrew's face.

"Yeah, I tend to keep things to myself. I admit it."

"So, are you saying that I'm wrong? You didn't attack your classmates and shun everyone at your last school?" Emily asked. Andrew took another deep breath.

"You're not wrong," Andrew said slowly. "But you're not entirely right either."

"Would you like to clarify?" Emily asked.

"I've known Darren for a few years now," he started. "From the first day we met we were rivals. To tell you the truth I don't know why. Our personalities didn't mesh or something like that. The… incident that you were told about was the result of several years of tension. Darren didn't like me and I didn't like him. He and his buddies made it a point to harass me at every turn. It was mostly small stuff. Taunts, jeers, slurs, that kind of thing."

He heard Emily draw in a breath and knew that she understood. It was a common situation amongst Faunus. One of the reasons they would join the White Fang. Too many of those small events building upon each other until it grew to be intolerable. Dismissals, comments, funny looks, whispers just loud enough to be heard. They would join together and become a constant whisper in the back of a Faunus' mind and keep pushing until they broke.

"After I had received my acceptance to Beacon I had gone out to one of my favorite spots at school to enjoy it," Andrew continued. "There was a large tree in the courtyard that I liked to climb. Darren and his little gang of cronies showed up and did their routine. I brushed it off until one of them made the claim that I wasn't anything more than an attack dog."

Andrew's voice gained a hard edge. "That wasn't something I was going to let slide."

"So you attacked them?" Marie asked. It was the first thing she had said since the explanation had started.

"I won't justify my actions!" Andrew snapped, his anger bursting past his carefully arranged barriers. "And I certainly don't need a lecture! I've already had this discussion with Ozpin! I won't get it from you too!" He turned away from the window to face Marie. His eyes flashed with barely controlled fury.

"You have no idea what it's like!" he snarled. "To have nothing but your pride to keep you company. No friends, no family to fall back on. Just… yourself." Andrew's eyes blurred slightly. He didn't need judgement. Not now.

Marie fell silent. Andrew took a breath to steady himself, turning back to the window and resting his fists on the sill. "Yes. I attacked them. I fought each and every one of them. I actually think I showed remarkable restraint, all things considered. I knocked just about all of them unconscious and I broke Darren's nose. I didn't do anything more serious than that. Dust, I even offered to help him to the nurse's office. He turned it down. About an hour or two later the cops showed up. Took me down to the station and asked a bunch of really stupid questions. Ozpin showed up and cleared everything up."

He turned to face his teammates once again. Emily had silently sat down in a nearby chair as he had spoken and was watching him. The wolf met his leader's eyes. "I'm sorry I came on strong like that. I guess I'm just too ready to fight. I've done it for so long, maybe it's just second nature."

Emily held his gaze and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?" Andrew let out a quick, bitter laugh.

"Tell you what? That one of your teammates went and beat the tar out of some of his peers? You seemed worried about me as it was. Why go and add more fuel to the fire? I didn't think you needed to know. It was a personal thing, you know?" Reginald leaned forward.

"How'd you find out anyway?" the blonde inquired. Emily hesitated.

"I was… told," she said haltingly.

"Was it from a girl named Terra North?" Andrew asked. Emily opened her mouth and closed it. Andrew nodded. "I thought so," he said and sat on the window sill. "This whole mess had her name written all over it."

"You know her?" Marie asked.

"It's more than that, isn't it?" Reginald asked shrewdly. "You two knew each other well, didn't you?"

"Not well enough." Andrew said. "If I'd known her well I would've stayed the heck away from her. Terra's bad news."

"How do you know?" Emily asked. Andrew laughed again.

"Because I was her biggest weapon, and her greatest failure."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"Terra likes to be in control of things," the wolf explained. "She attended Herald like Darren and I did. She and I had gotten close early on. She was the first real friend I'd ever had. Intelligent, skilled, charismatic. I'm really not that surprised that I was drawn to her. She didn't seem bothered that I was a Faunus either. For a while, things seemed fine. We studied and trained together and were some of the best students there. After a while, though, I started to notice patterns."

"Patterns?" Emily asked.

"I was the better fighter between the two of us," Andrew explained. "It always seemed to come naturally to me. Occasionally, Terra would ask me to fight particular people in combat practice. After a while, she started asking me to be close by people or be around the corner when she went to talk to someone. It wasn't until people started avoiding me when she wasn't around that I began to catch on."

"Catch on to what?" Marie asked.

"Apparently, she was using me to gain a kind of social status amongst the other students. Whenever she had a problem with someone she would have me stay close by them as a warning to back off. If they didn't get the message, and sometimes even if they did, she would have me legitimately fight them in combat practice. As I said, I've always had a gift for fighting. Apparently that was enough or there were steps she took after that that I'm not aware of. In either case the student would back off."

"Why?" Marie asked. "Why would she do that? What did she gain?" Andrew rested his fingers on his temples and his wolf ears twitched.

"Dust, I don't know. Maybe she just liked the power trip. I really don't care one way or another."

"What happened?" Reginald asked.

"What do think happened?" Andrew asked rhetorically. "I confronted her. I tore her little system apart and used it against her. I stayed close for a couple days, making a point to try and put her on edge, catching in her places she wouldn't expect me to be, and then legitimately fought her in combat practice. I made sure to do a really good job beating her too. Then I confronted her directly in the middle of the lunch hall and made absolutely sure that _everyone_ there knew that she and I were through and if she wanted to run a little empire she could do it herself."

"Did it work?" Reginald asked.

"Mostly," Andrew replied. "She moved to Mistral not too long after that. Her parting gift to me was the nickname Lone Wolf and managed to get a pretty big stigma set up against me before she left. I never had a friend afterward. So I devoted my time to combat. The only thing I've ever been really good at. The name stuck and I got accepted here." Andrew looked at his teammates. "You've just gotten about half of my life's story because Terra can't learn to let go."

Emily looked down and said, "I'm sorry, Andrew. I shouldn't have treated you like this. I really am a poor leader."

"Stop it," Andrew said firmly. "Stop that right now." Emily looked up, startled at his sudden change in tone.

"Stop what?" She asked.

"Feeling sorry for yourself. You're not the first person she's messed with and you certainly won't be the last. So she messed with you a little. So what? Are you going to let one mistake keep you down?"

"I-"

"Because if you do, that means she still wins and still has control over you. Do you want that?"

"No," Emily said.

"No what?" Andrew countered. "Be specific."

"I don't want her controlling me."

"Louder," Andrew said sternly.

"I don't want her to control me!" Emily said more forcibly.

"Who?" Andrew asked.

Emily growled and yelled, "I don't want ANYONE to control me!" The cat's aura flared into viridian light and something unseen whooshed past Andrew, making his clothes, hair, and ears wave for a moment. The blue haired boy blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"All right. You've just learned the lesson that took me a couple of years to figure out," he said. "No more secrets between us now. You all know. We good?"

"Yeah," Emily said. "I'm good."

"Thank Dust for that," Marie said, standing up and stretching. "I was getting tired of the tension. If it'd kept going much longer I was planning on locking you two in a room until you worked out your issues."

Emily smiled.

"Sorry about that," she said, blushing slightly.

"It's nothing," Reginald said. He had risen too and was examining himself in the room's mirror. "On a completely different note, what did you do back there? It's done wonders for my hair."

Emily stared at the ram incredulously for a moment and then burst out laughing.


	21. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

One of the most widely accepted facts between the students of Beacon was that combat practice was one of the most important classes in the entire school. It was also widely accepted that it was one of the most difficult.

Professor Glynda Goodwitch taught the class, and she ran it strictly. Sparring matches were a regular occurrence and they weren't ever the same.

Usually, Goodwitch would match a pair of students who were at similar levels of skill. Sometimes there were two on twos or team on team matches as well. No one could ever really be sure what Goodwitch would decide needed to be worked on.

What she had told them on that first day and been correct. There was no ramp up period. The best teams had taken that first day of bouts and had immediately begun to create team maneuvers and combos. None of them had been perfected, but it was clear which teams had taken the point out of the gate.

Everyone had run into several interesting challenges when they were put into the ring. Not only was the ring a challenge but it was also hard to avoid being put into the combat ring. Goodwitch had an eagle's eye when it came to people trying to lay low. If a student hadn't practiced for a few classes she would catch them, no exceptions ever recorded or witnessed.

Goodwitch also didn't hold back in her reviews of the participants. Andrew vividly remembered the time he had made a stupid mistake and the comments he had received from her. He hadn't made the same mistake since. Glynda had no reservations about her reviews. She was firm believer in efficiency and picking up lessons quickly. If anyone lagged, then it was up to them to catch up, not her.

In any event, the current matchup promised to be very interesting. Raymond Nest of team FRST was a complete unknown to Andrew.

The only impression that the wolf had was his brief, non-verbal encounter at the top of Beacon cliff before initiation, which wasn't much. The impression Andrew had gotten was that Raymond didn't like him. What a shock.

He didn't have any idea about how Raymond might fight or think. Andrew just hoped that Raymond's opponent could figure it out before he lost.

Reginald strolled out of the locker area and into the combat arena wearing his eye-wateringly gold combat gear and his cocksure grin on his face. The ram's assault mace was propped casually on his shoulder as he moved.

"Sup?" he asked his opponent. Raymond apparently didn't feel the need to reply. Reg sulked a little. "It's no fun when there isn't any banter."

"This isn't a movie," Raymond told the Faunus. "It's a fight."

"What's the difference?" Reg countered. "Both are modes depicting conflict. And both are fun. So what's the problem of exchanging one-liners before the fireworks start?"

Raymond smirked a little. "You're way to confident."

Reginald shrugged a shoulder, his mace bobbing with the action. "Maybe I am," he said amiably before his smile turned vulpine. "Just try to keep up."

"Begin," Glynda said from her position on the sidelines.

The brown haired boy pulled a pair of tomahawks as Reginald shot forward in a broken pathed charge, his assault mace off of his shoulder. The weapon didn't move in an attack, though. Reginald swung the weapon in a block as bullets left the ends of the tomahawks.

The varying direction and speed of Reginald's approach made him a more difficult target to shoot and the ram was able to close the distance between them.

Raymond switched to defensive tactics as Reginald swung his mace to strike the human. Raymond blocked the strike with one tomahawk and counter attacked with the other, forcing Reginald to dance away.

"Good use of the dual wielding," he praised. Raymond didn't reply, but watched Reginald like a hawk. Reginald raised an eyebrow and then started moving left.

Before he'd taken a step Raymond fired a round at Reginald's foot. The ram stumbled back to avoid being hit and Raymond opened up with both weapons. Every round was aimed at Reginald's feet causing him to lose his balance as he tried to back away from the attacks.

"How's he doing that?" Andrew muttered.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked. Andrew glanced at Emily and explained.

"Raymond is firing with a disturbing amount of accuracy. Rather than aiming for Reginald's center of mass, like most shooters, he's aiming at where Reginald's feet are _about_ to land to keep him off balance. It's actually a lot harder, since he's somehow predicting _exactly_ where Reginald is going to step and having to compensate for the small irregularities that any firearm and shooter have."

Reginald finally managed to get one foot firmly planted and immediately went into a spin using the momentum to hurl the mace straight for Raymond's face. A belt of bullets connected the mace to the now detached magazine in Reginald's hand. The drum magazine shifted into a small buckler style shield in Reginald's hand.

Raymond seemed unfazed as he moved one of his tomahawk pistols to intercept the thrown weapon. The human changed targets with his other weapon and aimed for Reginald's head.

The ram yanked with his shield arm in a move that Andrew had seen Blake Belladonna do in a practice match and the airborne mace was pulled back toward the Faunus, the weapon interposing itself between the bullet heading toward his head at the last possible second. A part flew off of the mace as the bullet struck, and clattered several feet away from either combatant.

Reginald adjusted his stance, his buckler in front of him in one hand and the mace in the other, the belt of bullets hanging slack between them.

"You must have some sixth sense or something," Reginald commented. "You seem to know everything I'm going to do before I do."

Raymond didn't answer. He just stood there, watching the Faunus intently. Reginald looked Raymond over and his brow furrowed in thought.

"Have you noticed that Raymond hasn't moved from where he started?" Marie asked her teammates. Andrew's eyebrows went up and Emily made a thoughtful sound.

"But why wouldn't he move?" Emily asked. Reginald suddenly grinned and bull rushed straight toward the human. Raymond reacted the second Reg started to move, maybe even a second before, and opened fire with his weapons. This time, however, Reginald didn't even bother defending from the assault. He moved his shield to block any rounds that happened to be moving around its general vicinity, but otherwise simply let his aura soak up the impacts.

The aura display under his picture on the wall monitor rapidly started to decrease, but as Reginald closed the distance between himself and Raymond he swung his mace in a mighty swing.

Raymond seemed to snap out of his shooting daze and dove away from the Faunus, going into a roll and coming to his feet a small distance away before rotating and lifting his tomahawks in a defensive stance.

"Ah-ha!" Reginald cheered. "I have moved you."

Irritation came into Raymond's face and he charged Reginald, evidently deciding to switch tactics. Reginald grinned and switched his weapon into its tommy gun form.

He sighted on Raymond and opened fire in short controlled bursts. Raymond deflected the incoming rounds and closed in with the ram. Reginald danced away from the human and didn't counter.

"Come on!" he taunted. "Was that all you got?" Raymond moved into a shooting stance again and Reginald charged at him, his weapon shifting again. Raymond blocked the swing of Reginald's mace and Reginald blocked the second tomahawk with the buckler. Reginald flashed the human a sunny smile and forced his arms apart before giving the boy a hard headbutt. It probably hurt a lot more considering the fact that Reginald had thick ram's horns curving back on his head.

Raymond staggered back, dazed from the impact. Reginald hefted his mace and Raymond fired at the ram. Reginald barely managed to evade the rounds.

"That's impossible," Andrew said. "There's no way he can shoot that accurately after being hit in the head that hard. Something is going on." Marie grunted in affirmation, her attention fixed on the fight.

Reginald grinned and said, "Game over." There was a blinding flash of light and a BANG of sound. Raymond let out a scream and there was an explosion. Andrew blinked rapidly and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. After a moment, he saw Raymond flat on his back, his weapons laying a few feet away, and a large scorch mark on the ground.

"What on Remnant just happened?" Andrew asked.

"I think Reg just won," Marie said, still blinking rapidly to try and clear her vision.

"And the winner is Reginald Aurum," Glynda declared. She moved over to the fallen Raymond and quickly checked the student for injuries.

"Is he okay?" Reginald asked.

"He is," Glynda told him. "Out of his senses, but fine." Reginald sighed in relief.

"That's good. I was worried that I'd overdone it."

The ram twirled his weapon, once again in its tommy gun mode, and slung it over his back. Then he moved over to the fallen student and tried to help him to his feet. Ray roughly shoved Reginald away and struggled to his feet. Reginald shrugged and went back toward the locker area.

Glynda turned her attention back toward the other students and asked, "What did you notice?"

Silence reigned for a moment before a student rose his hand. Glynda nodded and the student spoke.

"There was an explosion during that flash of light. That's probably what knocked down Raymond's aura."

"That's correct. Can anyone identify _what_ made the explosion?" No one answered, probably because they didn't want to admit that they hadn't been able to see any of the final moments of the fight.

"Battlefield awareness is a survival trait of a Huntsman or Huntress," Glynda explained. "You must be constantly aware of changes in your environment and how to implement them to your advantage. Even when your senses fail you, you must remember everything that you've seen. Do you understand?" There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Very well. Will Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester please come to the combat arena?"

* * *

It wasn't until Team EMRD sat in the cafeteria that someone finally asked the question.

"How did you beat him?" Marie asked the ram. Reginald had a mouth full of food at the moment, his cheeks comically stuffed full.

"Whmmp?" he asked. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Swallow before you try to answer," she said in disgusted annoyance. "What are you, five?" Reginald swallowed the horde of food and grinned.

"Depends on who you ask," he said. "I've been appraised at anywhere from 5 to 80."

"Can we get back to my question?" Marie asked. Emily nodded. "How did you beat Nest?"

Reginald smiled.

"My sparkling personality," he said, sagely. Marie gave him a gimlet stare and Reginald laughed. "All right, all right. Do you remember that big fight we all had in the Emerald Forest?"

"Yeah," Andrew said. "I vividly remember you doing something to my ears." Then he blinked. "You did the same thing in your fight today. It's your Semblance. Isn't it?"

"I prefer to call it 'my sparkling personality,'" Reginald countered.

"It's more like a big ball of sunshine," Emily added.

"A giant, lethal-to-the-senses, ball of loud and obnoxious sunshine," Marie said. "It's definitely you." Reginald grinned.

"I am what I am," he replied.

"But that doesn't answer the question," Marie said.

"Sure it does. Didn't you realize what Raymond was doing?" The question was met with confused silence. "You didn't notice his eyes?" Reginald asked. There was more silence. Reginald raised an eyebrow and popped some food in his mouth, simply waiting.

Emily sighed and asked the question the ram was clearly waiting for.

"What was Raymond doing?"

Reginald swallowed and answered, "He was enhancing his sense of sight. His eyes had a slight glow whenever they were being affected."

Andrew's eyebrows shot up.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Why do you think I head butted him? I wanted to force him to use the trick in order to compensate for the disorientation. I've taken shots to the head. It's not fun, let me tell you."

"Okay, but there's still something you haven't explained," Marie said. "Where did the explosion come from?"

In response, Reginald dropped something onto the table. It was a charred piece of metal in the shape of a small rectangular box.

"This is something I don't leave home without," he explained. "Something my mother taught me. 'Reg,' she said, 'No matter what happens, never leave home without a box of matches or a lighter.'"

"Isn't that what you gave me back in the Emerald Forest?" Emily asked. "That piece you took off your weapon?"

Reginald tapped his nose in affirmation.

"Wait," Andrew said. "You're telling me that you 1) realized what his Semblance was, 2) got him to shoot off the _one_ piece of equipment from your weapon that you wanted, and 3) managed to maneuver him into the right position to blind him and blow him up in one fell swoop."

Reginald pointed a finger gun at his partner and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

Andrew's mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to process what Reginald had just confirmed. Marie turned her attention to Emily.

"You excited for the Vytal festival?" the maroonette asked, deciding to change topics. Emily almost seemed to glow in reply.

"There are going to be dances!" Emily said. "We'll get to see the cultures of the world all gathered here in Vale!"

"Hey, don't forget the tournament," Reginald interjected. "A chance to face off against students from other kingdoms. Who would want to miss that chance?"

"Not me," Andrew and Marie replied together.

"Hey, the festival isn't just about fighting guys," Emily said. "It's about celebrating peace and the diversity of our cultures. It's about _why_ we fight, not _how_ we fight."

"But learning combat from the other kingdoms can help us improve at being Huntsmen," Andrew said. "Surely that's just as important as why we fight."

"Sometimes," Emily said patiently. "But learning about how others see things is more important. If we can understand, then we don't need to fight. There's so much more we can learn from that."

The sound of laughter rolled through the cafeteria and they turned around to see Cardin Winchester yanking on the ears of a rabbit Faunus.

"Some of us need to learn more than others," Emily added, venom in her voice.

"Indeed," Marie said, her own voice going cold.

Andrew clenched his hands into fists and fought down the urge to go over there and beat Cardin to a pulp. Maybe Cardin would be more understanding if he felt what he was inflicting. Andrew could think of a few choice limbs to demonstrate with.

Cardin let go of the Faunus' ear and she quickly left, covering her eyes with her arm.

Silence fell over EMRD as they turned back around, their cheerful discussion ruined by CRDL's actions.

"So what do we do now?" Emily asked sullenly.

"Now," Reginald said, apparently unaffected by Cardin's antics, and rose from his seat, tray in hand. "Now I go to get seconds. Anyone want me to grab anything?" The others shook their heads and the ram walked off.

"How can he be so calm after that?" Marie asked.

"Reg isn't the kind of guy to show anger," Andrew said blandly. "Don't tell him I said this, but it's actually kind of impressive the way he can stay cool. He managed to still make jokes while we were being chased by the beowolves during initiation."

"He is quite the goofball," Emily admitted.

"He's going explode one of these days if he keeps holding it in," Marie said.

There was a resounding crash from behind them and they spun in their seats to see food scattered on and around team CRDL and Reginald's leg sticking up from under a table. The leg fell and Reginald got up from the ground unsteadily.

"I'm okay!" he called over some nearby laughter and raising his hands. "I'm okay!"

He stumbled to the side and slipped on his fallen tray, crashing into the ground with another loud crash, causing some more laughs and some other students to stand up to see if he was okay.

"I'm not okay!" Reginald called from the floor.

Andrew, Emily, and Marie rushed over to him and got there just as Cardin was hauling the ram up by the front of his shirt.

"Hey," he said aggressively. "Watch where you're going, animal."

"Sorry," Reginald said meekly. "I tripped. Darn left feet."

Andrew blinked and was rendered speechless once again by what he'd just seen. The ram was many things. Loud, obnoxious, cheerful, and more, but he wasn't meek by any stretch of the imagination. Cardin growled and Emily cleared her throat.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "You have a death grip on my teammate." Cardin narrowed his eyes at her and froze when the sound of heels clicking came.

"What are you doing, Mr. Winchester?" Glynda Goodwitch said. The members of EMRD that weren't being restrained turned around and looked at the Professor. Emily opened her mouth, but Reginald beat her to it.

"It's my fault, professor," he said quickly. "I tripped and fell here and Cardin," he nodded his head towards the armored male, "was helping me back up. Right, Cardin?"

The human narrowed his eyes and half-grunted an affirmative before letting go of Reginald, who straightened and looked at professor Goodwitch.

"Please don't say I'm in trouble," Reginald asked.

Glynda shook her head and told Reginald to be more careful. He gave a salute to the teacher and hurried out of the cafeteria with his teammates right behind him.

The moment the got out of sight of the cafeteria, Andrew punched Reginald in the arm.

"You son of a gun," he said. "How much of that did you plan?"

Reginald shrugged and gave his signature grin. "Enough, I hadn't counted on Goodwitch showing up. That was a blessing."

"Do you think you'll get any trouble for doing that?" Emily asked. Reginald snorted.

"Please. That idiot can try all he wants, there's nothing he could do to me that I couldn't handle."

Andrew leaned over to Marie and said, "I think he's got any anger problems under control."

 **Author's note: Haha! Double chapters! Bet you weren't expecting that! In any event. I really hope you're enjoying the story, especially given the huge break it had. Don't forget to leave a favorite, follow, and/or review! I enjoy hearing from you! Until next time! Ciao!**

 **Fun fact: Reginald's theme is _Centuries_ by Fall Out Boy. That song can tell you a lot about what kind of person Reg is.**


	22. Chapter 17

**Author's note: This is it. The chapter that got me back onto the EMRD train. I'm particularly proud of this chapter because it was so much fun to write. Reginald is a very fun character and one of my favorites to write. He's just so... well, FUN. He's a simple guy, but also so much more than that. I hope this chapter really helps highlight that fact. Anyway, you don't want to hear me ramble. You want to see what happens. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 17**

There was one practical problem with being on a team of workaholics, Reginald realized. Fun adventures out on the town were a mind bogglingly rare occurrence.

Actually, they were an occurrence so rare that Reginald was fairly certain that if an intervention didn't occur soon, he would be only remaining member of team EMRD, the others obviously dying of fun depravation.

This was obviously a job meant for the dynamic duo themselves, X-Ray and Vav. Sadly, they were likely dealing with some nefarious plot orchestrated by the Corpirate and The Mad King in their latest issue, so the burden of justice would have to fall to him.

The ram casually looked over his surroundings, looking for the tools of justice that would help him overcome this potentially fatal predicament.

Team EMRD was sitting at a table in Beacon's library. Emily, Marie, and Andrew were all buried in their books while Reginald himself had been busily pretending to look busy in order to avoid his friend's ire. He knew that they meant well, but mankind hadn't survived eradication by the Grimm to sit around and stare at books.

There was only one other student nearby: Blake Belladonna, the quiet and enigmatic member of team RWBY. That wouldn't do. She was bookwormy enough to be able to survive off of such papery stimulation and what he had planned would be disruptive enough to draw her attention.

Between her anger or his teammates', he knew which was more likely to result in his own injury. So he picked up a sheet of paper and pretended to try writing out something important. This was easy enough since what he wrote was important, to himself and his cause.

Once he had finished, he let out an annoyed grunt and crumpled the sheet of paper into a ball and tossed it in the general direction of the nearby trashcan. He'd done this enough in the last hour that none of his teammates paid the act any attention.

So none of them noticed that the crumpled ball actually landed directly in front of Blake Belladonna and her book rather than in the trash can.

The black haired girl's amber eyes flicked up from the pages of her book and onto the crumpled ball. Then she turned her gaze to Reginald. He moved his eyes toward the ball with a significant look, but didn't say anything.

Blake un-crumpled the ball and read the message written on it. She looked back at Reginald and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry.

Reginald waggled his eyebrows in response and shrugged his shoulders. Granted the words ' _I'd hate to interrupt what you clearly enjoy but I must save my teammates from their fate_ ' was a rather vague statement, but he was confident that Blake was smart enough to understand what he meant.

Evidently she was, or else she thought he was being a dimwit, because she carefully marked her page, stood, and left them. She even threw away the note as she left.

Reginald smiled. Phase one: complete. On to phase two.

He waited until his all of his teammates weren't writing anything, it would be awful to ruin perfectly good notes, before leaping into action.

He dropped the rather large and heavy history book down onto the table with a loud THUMP and spoke in a tone of voice that was louder than it strictly had to be.

"What are we doing?" he asked casually.

His actions got the desired effect. His teammates all looked at him with varying degrees of annoyance.

"We're getting a head start on our history homework," Emily said in a reasonable tone of voice.

"Yes, but _why_ are we doing it?" Reginald asked in a reasonably annoying voice.

"To get it out of the way," Marie answered, turning back to her book. Her response was calm, practical, professional, and very, _very_ predictable.

"But get it out of the way of _what_?" Reginald asked. "You don't do anything else other than work, Marie. When was the last time you did anything fun?"

"I have fun all the time," she assured him.

Reginald didn't buy it. He could see the subtle hints of tension in her bearing betraying her stress.

"Punching things in the gym is hardly what I'd call stimulating," Reginald told her. "No, I'm talking about going out and having _fun_. When was the last time you went out and hit up a club, or an arcade, or gone anywhere that wasn't connected to school in some way, shape, or form?"

Marie scowled at him. "What's wrong with my idea of fun?"

"That it's all you ever do," Reginald answered emphatically. "I enjoy a good work out as much as the next guy, but that's not all I do. I still find time to play my guitar and even Emily keeps up her artwork."

This was true. Reginald had given his teammates a few minor performances, even offering tips and lessons to any fellow students who asked. Jaune Arc, for example, had asked on more than one occasion and had even demonstrated some talent for the activity, though he had refused to explain why he wanted to learn to play.

Emily, in turn, had systematically drawn out all of her team members in amazing detail in the last several weeks, but brushed away all praise with modest dismissals of the compliments.

The cat blushed a little at Reginald's comment and the ram continued. "And as enjoyable as Andrew finds chess, I can't survive socially through a strategy game."

"What do you propose?" Emily asked.

"That we spend our friday evening doing more than just homework," Reginald said. "We've got a decent start on this assignment, so why can't we just spend a little time in Vale for some R&R? All this studying and training is going to be useless to us if we all die of boredom before the semester is out."

"Nothing stopping you from leaving," Andrew pointed out. Reginald gave his partner a look.

"This isn't for me, dolt. It's for all of you. You're all wound up. Given what happened in History today, I think you need to spend some time to cool off, mellow your vibe, or you're gonna kill yourselves."

This was also true. Their last few history lessons had been going over the Faunus Wars and there was some tension about the subject in the team, being made of mostly Faunus. Reginald had a strong feeling that Marie was touchy about the subject as well, but hadn't pried.

The last class had been a particularly stressful thanks to Jaune Arc's ignorance and Cardin Winchester's racist attitude. Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladona had cut through the tension that and formed, but there was also that moment where Cardin had looked ready to kill the two of them. Well, try at any rate.

Given Nikos' reputation, Reginald was certain that the red head could've destroyed Cardin with nothing more than a pair of pencils and a chalkboard eraser. Blake might've used a chair. Reginald didn't entirely care how it could have ended but he could tell the others hadn't been as resistant.

Emily sighed. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" she asked.

"Nope!" Reginald replied in a cheery voice.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"I know what _I_ want to do," Reginald said. "But I also want you all to find something to do in Vale too."

* * *

Reginald strolled down the street, playing music from his scroll. It felt great to just roam around off campus. Part of him was honestly surprised that he'd been able to persuade his teammates to do this. They wouldn't have been able to prevent _him_ from going, but it wasn't just about him. They all needed to let loose more.

His team… They were quite an interesting group.

Emily was quite talented in many ways. Not many people could make combat look like dance practice, and she had considerable talent for visual art. As a leader, she was reserved and didn't push them, letting them have a kind of free rein until she needed to get them in order. She was confident in everything _except_ leading, it seemed. He hoped she found out what she needed before anything happened.

Marie was interesting. She engaged herself in group activities and even helped do some of the leading of the team, but when it came to personal matters she was very tight lipped and impossible to read. That, and she rarely slept well. She seemed to be plagued with bad dreams that would wake her up. She tried to hide it but he, at the least, had noticed, even if he didn't bring it up. It couldn't be put off forever, though. She'd eventually crash and there was no way to tell what would happen when she did. That thought caused his smile to fade as he turned a corner. He'd have to keep an eye on her for signs of it. He didn't want her to get herself or someone else hurt.

His partner was a lot like Marie. Very driven, but with less negative effects. Instead of physical and social problems, Andrew simply had social problems. It wasn't hard to figure out why when you took into account his story about Terra. Andrew had at least opened up enough to bring it out, even if it wasn't entirely his choice. He would have to find a way to get Andrew more relaxed. The only problem was that Andrew's own drive worked against that. He was completely dedicated to his work even if it might kill him.

Reginald looked around and recognized where he was. He was standing by an alleyway where he'd helped a Faunus girl who was being harassed by thugs.

His smile returned and he quickened his steps, soon reaching his favorite spot to just sit and relax.

He opened the door, which chimed, and called out, "Yo, Mac! Guess who's in?!" He had about two seconds to process the round metal object flying towards his head.

He caught the metal pan in his hand and spun in a circle, flinging it back the way it had come in one smooth motion like it was a frisbee.

The large man behind the counter caught the pan, although less skillfully than Reginald had, and set it back down.

"Why if it isn't my favorite customer!" he shouted in glee. "How've you been, Reg?"

"Same as always when I come in here, Mac," Reg said. "Happy as can be and ready to chew on something."

"I'll have your usual ready before you know it!" Mac shouted and set to work. Reginald sat in his usual spot at the counter and gave the small establishment a once over.

As establishments go, The West Side Cafe really wasn't much. The cafe was small, but still cozy, and decorated in neutral tones that were on the lighter side of the color spectrum.

The tables were round, wooden, and well cared for, if a little old. The counter where Mac worked had a few stools for single customers and a varied collection of edibles on display for customers to have. Reginald knew that Mac had made most of them himself and would also do custom orders, though he was seldom asked for them.

Mac's place was actually a bakery as well as a cafe, though it never saw a huge amount of business. There was a door behind the counter which led to the baking area and a stairwell to Mac's apartment above the business.

Mac N. Chase was the owner of the small cafe. The human had run the cafe for 20 years almost completely on his own. The place didn't see enough business to require a large amount of staff, but the staff he did hire were almost exclusively faunus and they were very loyal to him.

A small plate of gold frosted pastries was set in front of Reginald, breaking his train of thought. He looked at the plate and knew immediately that something was different.

He turned to look at Mac and asked, "Who's the assistant?" Mac gave the ram smile.

"I don't know what on Remnant you're talking about," the cafe owner said. Reginald leaned forward and gave the human a look.

"Mac," he said, "I've been coming here for long enough to know when you've made something. There's a certain… pride that radiates off of the food." He pointed to the plate and said, "This food _looks_ like you made it, but it _feels_ different."

Mac grinned and said, "She'd be happy to hear you say that. She's been working hard to replicate my creations."

"She?" Reginald asked and grinned as well. "Is she cute?"

"I think you should be the judge of that," the older man said stepped to the side and allowing the door to the back to be opened. Reginald's eyes widened and then he burst out laughing so hard he almost fell off of his stool.

"Magnolia?!" he shouted.

"Hello, Reg," the mouse faunus said. "It's been a while."

"It's been too long," the ram said and waved her over. They embraced over the counter and Reginald sat back down. "When did you start working here?"

"About a week after you brought her here," Mac said.

"I needed a job and I remembered that you said Mac hired faunus, so I gave it a shot and it paid off."

"And not just for her," Mac said. "She's a natural baker and has been able to figure out my recipes just about flawlessly."

Reginald raised a hand and said, "Hey, now hold on a second. Shouldn't I be the judge of that? You're a biased, old man. I've been coming here for 10 years."

"I'm biased?" Mac said with false indignation. "What does that make you?"

"I'm qualified," Reginald said, straightening his posture and trying his best to imitate the way Weiss Schnee would've sounded.

He picked up one of the pastries and took a bite and immediately fell off of his stool, choking and coughing violently.

Magnolia let out a cry of shock and horror, leaping over the counter to see if Reginald was all right. After a moment, Reginald's coughing turned into laughter.

"I can't believe," he said through his laughter, "that you actually _fell_ for that! That has to be one of the oldest tricks in the book!"

Magnolia gave him a look and then started kicking him in the side. He started letting out yells of pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" he yelled and made a false effort to defend himself.

"You. Are. An. Utter. Jerk!" the mouse said, kicking Reg between each word. The ram started blocking some of her kicks with his arms before rolling away and hurriedly getting to his feet.

"All right, all right," he apologized. "I just couldn't help myself. They actually are lovely, Magnolia. Mac understated your skill."

Magnolia stopped trying to beat Reginald and said, "Thanks, Reg. For everything you've done for me."

The two faunus sat at the counter and the three friends started making small-talk, catching up on events and swapping congratulations.

"Have those guys tried bothering you again?" Reginald asked. Mac nodded.

"Yeah, they showed up here a few days after she started working here."

"What happened?"

"Oh, lets see…" Mac said. "A group of about four guys matching what you'd described to me came in and started asking if Magnolia had been around. They didn't use her name but I figured it was her from what they described."

"What did you tell them?" Reg asked. Magnolia laughed and beat Mac to the reply.

"He said: 'Yep, and what do you lot want with her?' and apparently they dodged answering, but were stupid enough to start talking to themselves about it."

"Everyone keeps a little more hushed when a faunus is nearby," Mac said, "but they never count on some old codger like me having good ears." Then Magnolia took over the conversation again.

"So then, Mac tells them: 'If you've got a problem with my employee then tell me and I'll straighten it out'. And one of them is actually dumb enough to say that they have a problem with me. Although, they actually said something far less polite."

"And then what happened?" Reg asked, a smile forming on his face.

"They decided to act aggressive and got upitty," Mac said. "One of them even moved his hand towards a weapon. At least until I pulled out these." Mac pulled out a pair of dao, the blades of the swords shining in the light of the cafe. Reginald noticed that the blades of the swords had dragons engraved on them. "I may not have gone to a fancy combat school, but I know how to use these and made sure those boys knew too. They seemed to calm down after that and left."

"Then he closed the place a little early and made sure I got home safe that night," Magnolia said.

"It was nothing," the older man said. "You're my employee and I look after my employees."

They continued talking for a long time, and Reginald relaxed.

 **Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! For those who are interested, a major inspiration for Reginald, especially recently, is Wayne from Brandon Sanderson's _Wax and Wayne_ series of _Mistborn_ books. Writing the beginning of this chapter felt very Sanderson for me, which is something I found both surreal and exciting. Mac is based on Iroh from _The Last Air Bender_ and I always hear Iroh's voice when reading and writing him.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to favorite, follow, and leave a review! Until next time! Ciao!**


	23. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Emily set off down a street completely at random, idly glancing at the stores as she walked by, hoping that something might catch her eye.

She wasn't much of a shopper, despite the appearance that her combat gear gave her. It was next to impossible for a Kingdom living Faunus to have an over-abundance of money. It was sad, really. There were a lot of opportunities that Faunus were still denied, despite the good that they could do.

Emily's eye drifted over to another shop and she stopped walking. The shop had a shattered window and her eyes still caught faint signs of a fight having taken place in the street. She stepped closer to the shop and read the sign hung on the door.

"Temporarily closed for repairs," she read aloud and looked up to check the name of the shop. _From Dust Till Dawn._

So this was the Dust shop that had been robbed. If she remembered correctly, Roman Torchwick had been the one responsible and had managed to get away.

Emily started walking again and thought about Torchwick. She couldn't understand why someone would go out of their way to cause trouble like he did. Sure things could be rough, but a life of crime didn't seem to be something that could very fulfilling.

Ruby Rose, the young leader of team RWBY had stopped him almost single-handedly if she remembered correctly. She'd seen Ruby in class and couldn't help admiring the girl a little.

Ruby was young for a Beacon student and seemed to be handling her responsibilities as a team leader remarkably well for someone her age. She was energetic, bright, and hard to dislike. She was also a powerful fighter and a seeming master of the scythe.

Emily stayed lost in her thoughts for several blocks before she decided to look the stores over again. There wasn't much around that interested her. A general store or two, which she didn't need to visit, a jewelry store, which was tempting to look at but likely too expensive, and then something else caught her eye.

" _Tukson's Book Trade_ ," she read aloud. When was the last time she had spent a long time just reading for fun? Before she'd gone to Beacon? It felt like forever.

She made her decision and entered the shop.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," someone said near a shelf. He stepped out and continued, "How can I help you?"

Emily had to smile and asked, "Do you have any fantasy novels?"

The man, presumably Tukson, smiled as well and asked, "What have you read?"

She immediately listed a series of titles and Tukson nodded before beginning suggest stories she might find interesting.

Emily left the bookstore two hours later with the biggest smile on her face she thought she'd ever had. Tukson had been very nice, always providing a book when she asked for one and he had even recommended some books that she never would've believed that she would like. She had thanked him as warmly as possible and promised that she would come back.

He was a good man, she had decided. He was also very lucky. She had been able to tell that he was a Faunus, and the fact that he was able to keep a bookstore working was wonderful.

Emily found a bench and sat down, laying the book she had left with, one that Tukson had recommended, beside her and looked around in a relaxed way.

Reginald had been right, they had needed this. She had needed this. She picked up the book, flipped open the cover, and began to read. She could tell from the first few pages that Tukson had been right, she would enjoy the book. She hadn't heard of Sanderson before, but she would have to look for more of his stories.

She was so engrossed in the story, in fact, that she didn't notice someone sitting down next to her.

"This is a surprise," the newcomer said. Emily jumped slightly and then went still. The voice was unmistakeable and the last one that she wanted to hear right now.

"What is?" Emily asked levelly, not looking at the newcomer.

"That I'd happen to find you here," the newcomer said. "I started getting worried when you stopped talking to me and then I get lucky and find you in the middle of Vale."

"Are you sure luck was involved?" Emily asked, carefully marking her page and closing the book. A part of her mind that had probably been paying to much attention to Andrew noted that the street was currently empty. It was evening, though. Not as many people would be out. They would be at home or out in various shops that catered more to the evening crowd.

"All right," the newcomer said and lifted her hands in defeat, "you caught me. I was more than a little worried. I wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine, Terra," Emily said. "I just don't need to talk to you anymore."

"Oh, why not?" Terra asked. "I enjoyed our conversations."

"I didn't," Emily said.

"That's not what I remember," Terra said.

"Well, I wasn't exactly myself when we were talking," Emily said with an edge to her voice. "You were making sure of that, right?"

"Why would I do that?" Terra asked, sounding offended. She almost sounded convincing too, but Emily could hear the glint of mockery in the words. A tiny sense of superiority and pleasure at the power such words could grant. She'd been too uncertain to hear it before, but now she could.

"Drop the act," Emily said. "Andrew told me all about you and about what really happened with your leader."

"What act?" Terra said. "I'm being sincere."

"Hard to believe you when you've already lied to me once."

"I never lied to you. Everything I told you was true."

"You told me that Andrew attacked Darren Forrester in a fit of jealous rage," Emily said accusingly.

"That's what I was told," Terra said. "Can you fault me for believing what my leader told me?" Emily didn't answer and Terra continued. "And everything I told you about Andrew was true."

"You left out the part where you were using him as your puppet," Emily said.

"Oh? And what would I have been using him as a puppet for? He has a one-track mind, sweetie: Fighting. It must be in his nature, because I don't think he's ever cared for anything other than hi-"

Emily acted with almost blinding speed, gripping the hilt of her weapon that was wrapped around her waist and whipping _Wind's Edge_ towards Terra.

The human moved just as quickly and rolled from her position on the bench, barely dodging the attack and coming to her feet.

"What are you doing?!" she asked. Emily didn't speak, simply slashing the air with _Wind's Edge_ again and forcing Terra to evade.

Absolute fury dominated her mind. Memories crashed onto her and she wasn't standing in the street anymore.

She stood before a row of dark, faceless people. She heard dismissals and excuses that had no groundwork. She remembered the whispers, the hours alone, of doubt. The remembered hate tasted like acid in her mouth. She remembered other words, an explanation spoken in the dark. Emotion buried so deep it was almost gone.

"You arrogant child," Emily snarled. "Are you really so blind? Or do you simply not care about anything beside yourself?"

"What are you talking ab-" Emily lashed the chain whip at Terra for a third time and the human was forced to move her position.

"He said those same words," Emily seethed. "That it was his nature. I saw the guilt, the shame, in his eyes as he said them. And _you_ , who ruined his life and used him like some _tool_ , have the gall to blithely comment on it like it's a weather forecast!" Dust and dirt on the sidewalk drifted away from Emily as a breeze flowed by her.

The feigned charm in Terra's voice faded and her eyes gained a dangerous light. "I'm simply speaking the truth," she said. "It's who he is. He loves the fight, the _hunt_. He was like that before I met him. He's still like that. He just hides it behind an air of 'nobility'. Playing chess as if he's some general directing a battle. Wanting to fight monsters as if he's actually a-"

Emily almost got her with the next swing. The jiujiebian responded to the flick of Emily's wrist and lashed at Terra from a long angle toward her chest. As the bladed segments slashed through the air, it retracted into the weapon's hilt. The last segment of the weapon passed within an inch of Terra's body as the weapon was collapsed into its dagger shape. Terra's eyes were wide with quickly suppressed surprise.

An air of serenity seemed to cocoon the Faunus as she extended the weapon again and wrapped it around her waist like a belt.

"Fool me once shame on you," Emily said in a calm voice. "Fool me twice shame on me. You're not as clever as you think you are." Terra tilted her head to one side.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her composure restored.

"I mean you're a leech and an opportunist. You find those who are emotionally vulnerable, then you push them so that you can get a high from the power you possess. If one approach doesn't work you try another. Like with me just now. I wasn't responding to the fake friend card, so you tried to make me act out in anger instead. I'll give you props for almost succeeding, but 'almost' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

"I wouldn't say I almost succeeded. You did try to attack me several times." Emily gave a chilly little smile in reply.

"Three blatantly telegraphed attacks against someone with extensive training. No witnesses. You couldn't sell that to Goodwitch or Ozpin if you tried."

Annoyance flickered across Terra's face and Emily noticed that her eyes panned from left to right, as if looking for something that was supposed to be there but wasn't.

"You're pathetic, Terra. And I'm not playing your stupid games anymore." The Faunus picked up her book, turned her back on Terra and left without looking back.

She felt… lighter somehow. As if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. But there was a pressure right between her shoulder blades. Emily could feel the gaze of the furious human behind her.

She'd made an enemy today. She was okay with that, though. She'd read once that it was possible to judge a person based on the enemies they made. She'd made enemies with a viper and deceiver. If that wasn't a compliment, then she wasn't sure what would be.

 **Author's note: I just want to give a quick shoutout to Gizmo Gear for making my email go off for 4 hours. I'm thrilled you like my story that much and hope you get a kick out of the rest of it! This chapter's for you!**


	24. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Marie knew exactly where she was going. If Reginald seriously wanted some time to rest and recreate, that was fine. She was very work-oriented, but had to admit that Reginald had a point. They really should get off campus more often.

So she made a mental compromise and decided that she could do work that didn't immediately involve Beacon.

To that end, she opened the door to the Vale Police Department and waved to the officer at the desk. The officer looked up and smiled.

"Marie! It's good to see you again. How've you been?"

"Off and on, Officer Ian," She said.

The officer laughed and said, "Hey, you don't have to be so formal with us. You're pretty much family."

Marie glanced down for a moment and said, "Sorry, Dan. Old habits."

"Hey, it's not a problem," Dan said and pointed. "Why don't you go see everyone? They'll be happy to see you again."

"Thanks," Marie said and walked further into the station. She went about five steps before someone grabbed her roughly from behind.

Marie acted on instinct, and habit. She drove her elbow into her assaulter's stomach and then heaved him over her shoulder to the ground in front of her, where she pinned his arms. She was short, barely over five feet in height, but what she lacked in height she made up for in strength and the knowledge of how to use it.

"For the hundredth time," she said, annoyed, "don't _do that_ , Oliver."

The police officer that she was restraining laughed and said, "Good to see you too, short stuff."

There was a sound of applause and Marie looked up to see every cop in sight giving her a polite round of clapping. She released Oliver and helped him to his feet.

"Hey everybody," she said, grinning.

She got a chorus of greetings back and then Oliver said, "All right everyone, get back to work. The city's not gonna police itself."

The officers got back to their tasks and Oliver nodded towards a small break area. They got comfortable and started talking.

"Congrats on getting into Beacon, by the way," Oliver said. "I'm sure your parents would be proud." Marie nodded took a sip of water from a cup that Oliver provided. The officer noticed that she didn't speak. "Something on your mind?" he asked.

"I'm just thinking about mom and dad," she said. "And how fate seems to like playing things out."

"Want to share?" Oliver asked and sipped from a cup of coffee.

"Well," Marie said. "I'm on a team with all Faunus." Oliver hmmed but otherwise didn't speak. After a moment of silence, Marie continued. "And I haven't told them about mom and dad yet."

"I see," Oliver said and set his cup down. "And I take it that you don't want to talk about it with them unless you have to?"

"Yeah," Marie said and, with nothing else to do, took another sip.

"Do you trust them?" the cop asked. Marie nodded. "And they trust you?" Marie nodded again. The officer sighed and said, "Then let me give you some advice, short stuff. Just tell them. I know you want to bottle it up, but it's just gonna eat at you until you let it out. You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" Marie's hand twitched and she didn't speak. "That's my advice, kid. Take it or leave it, that's it." There was a moment of silence and Oliver added, "Uh, consulting hours are from 9-5 and I offer a discount for the first two sessions."

Marie had to smile and gave Oliver a hug. "How about I just give you the same service right back?" she said. "Is there anything I can do to help you guys out while I'm here?"

"Happy you haven't forgotten about us, short stuff," the officer said and leaned back in his chair. "And now that you mention it, there is something I'd like you to keep an eye on for me."

"What is it?" The huntress in training asked.

The detective became more serious. "There's been a lot of odd cases popping up over the last several weeks," he said.

"Odd how?" Marie asked. Oliver's eyes flicked from side to side for a moment before he adjusted himself in his seat.

"They've been popping up all across the VPD. People suddenly disappearing without a trace. People suddenly flying into inexplicable rages. There have been whispers that there's some new drug moving around too." Marie's brow furrowed in thought. "And," Oliver added, "many of them are in your age group."

Something flashed in Marie's eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I want you to keep you eyes peeled. People have been acting odd and I wouldn't mind someone else paying attention, especially around at the academy."

Marie nodded and said, "Yeah, sure. I can do that." Oliver smiled.

"Thanks, kid. Oh, and if you'd keep this on the down low, I'd appreciate it." Marie nodded again and Oliver let out a breath. "This place is starting to turn into a jungle. And I can't shake the feeling that we're missing something."

"I was looking to blow a little steam as well," Marie said. "Want to join me?"

The detective raised an eyebrow. "What'd you have in mind?"

* * *

The VPD had a fairly decent gun range. It had to when you considered the potential trouble Kingdom police officers could run into. The possibility of criminals having some control over their aura was fairly high, and the police force had to be prepared to handle such encounters without any warning.

A large part of Roman Torchwick's success, for example, was the fact that he appeared to have extensive training in both combat and the use of his aura. This allowed him to handle confrontations with the police as much as it did his criminal rivals.

Marie preferred to use hand-to-hand combat and made it a personal point to hide the fact that, on top of being a talented and skilled martial artist, she was also a fair hand at firearms as well.

The gun range projected a two dimensional image of a thug and Marie nailed him in the chest with a round from the pistol she was holding. The image shattered and a collection of thugs replaced it.

Marie opened fire and Oliver joined her, the two competing while still working in concert.

"You know," he said, "most girls your age would be out at a night club or something. Not shooting projected images of criminals."

"Their loss," Marie said as she fired her last round into the nether regions of a projection of Roman Torchwick. To the VPDs credit, the image of Torchwick changed to show a look of horror before it flickered out of existence.

"Brutal," Oliver commented and set his own pistol down.

"It's a gift," Marie said and set down her own pistol. "Dust, I needed that."

Oliver shook his head. "I'm preemptively pitying your first ex. I doubt he'll survive the experience of a bad break-up."

Marie snorted. "Yeah, cause a relationship is totally what I'm looking for right now."

Oliver shrugged. "The statement isn't invalid, just highly unlikely. And, hey, if you change you mind the department will pitch in and get you something nice."

Marie glowered at the detective and said, "You realize I don't need a gun to hurt you, right?"

He grinned and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, just ribbing you, kid."

Marie took a breath and gave him a smile.


	25. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Andrew was at something of a loss. He'd agreed to what Reginald had suggested because taking some time off had sounded like a good idea. It was always good to rest the body and the mind from time to time.

Having said that, he was at a complete loss when it came to finding something to do in order to rest and recreate.

Andrew was a creature of order, of structure. He _did_ things. He trained, he studied, he worked, he maintained his body, rinse and repeat.

But what should he do, now? If he didn't find _something_ to do he was going to go insane and his partner would never let him live it down. A part of him really didn't want to disappoint Reginald, and he really wasn't sure why.

He wound up going to the park, lead there by some instinct.

The park was deserted. Andrew felt a strange stab in his chest, an old injury, one that had never really healed. He'd just gotten good at ignoring it.

The wolf moved his gaze over the trees, grass, and playground equipment. Memories came upon him like the tide, gradual but inevitable.

He'd spent many a lonely day at playgrounds, sitting on a swing and watching his fellow orphans playing and talking. A lone Faunus in a gaggle of humans. It was just his luck that he'd end up without another Faunus orphan to bond with in those days. If there had been another Faunus, maybe he wouldn't have been targeted quiet so much by some of the more mean-spirited children.

Those early days had been tough, and he had grown to accept that as a fact of life. He was a Faunus, and he would always have a target on his back. A pair of grey wolf's ears sticking out of his blue hair had marked him for ostracism and abuse.

But he had risen from the dust. He had fought back and come out the winner of those fights about as often as he lost. He had learned he was a fighter, and that he had power.

The irony was that learning that had only gotten him into more trouble. His history with Terra and Darren was proof enough of that.

Suddenly full of pent-up energy, he ran toward the nearest tree and scaled it. When he found a branch that was sturdy enough and high enough, he settled onto it and picked a leaf that was nearby.

People were a lot like plants, he had realized. They developed as a result of their environment. If a plant didn't get enough water or sunlight, then it would wither away. That was true of mankind, both en masse and on an individual level.

If people didn't get enough space and resources, then they turned on each other and the village, or city, or even Kingdom would begin to tear itself apart. If an individual didn't get enough kind attention and companionship, then they would twist and harden. Just like he had.

Andrew cast the leaf aside and watched it spin and drift to the grass. He'd accepted what he was a long time ago. A fighter, a loner. Except… now he wasn't quite as sure anymore.

When they had first met, Reginald had locked onto him and refused to let go, despite all of his attempts to brush him off. The ram had called him a friend, had waited in the bathroom for Dust knows how long in order to give him his toothbrush and then beaten him to the lunchroom in order to get him breakfast.

It had angered him at the time, but now, looking back, Andrew couldn't help but feel… grateful? appreciative? happy? that Reg had gone out of his way to help him.

No one else had really paid him that much attention. Emily had tried to connect to him as well, but not in the same way that Reginald had. Was this what it was like to have friends?

No, friends wasn't the right word. But… maybe family? He wasn't sure.

He leapt down from the tree, being sure to check to see if anyone was below him first.

Then he went to one of the tables scattered throughout the park and pulled his old chess set out of the small bag he'd brought with him. He set up each of the pieces with care, remembering the many times he'd done this ritual.

He'd had this chess set for as long as he could remember and it was his only possession, out of the few he had, that hadn't started as his own.

He'd been told by the orphanage that it had been left with him by his father and he held onto it because it was the only real thing of his father's that he'd ever had, apart from vague images. Holding onto that piece of his father had helped him survive many hard times. When the fights and jeers had really gotten to him, he'd played chess and immersed himself in the knowledge that it had belonged to his father.

He finished setting up the pieces and moved a white pawn forward.

"Pawn to B6," someone said. Andrew looked up and saw a kid about his own age standing a short distance away. Andrew blinked and realized why he had missed him before.

The boy was dressed almost completely in black and had been standing in a shadow cast by the almost set sun.

He was wearing a black leather duster, black pants, and black boots. The duster was unbuttoned, revealing a black shirt with a grey design on the front. The design appeared to be a pair of triangles interlocked to make a six-pointed star bound within a perfect circle. The kid's black hair was messy in a way that seemed almost designed, rather than simply random.

"Who are you?" Andrew asked.

"An acquaintance with a some people you know," he said and lifted a black cane with a gem at the top and veins of crystals running down the shaft.

Andrew tensed. His instincts told him that whoever this person was, he was clearly dangerous. While most people might not consider a cane a dangerous weapon, Andrew was smart enough to know that any weapon could look innocuous.

Yang Xiao Long's weapon, for example, could be completely ignored by someone who didn't know what to look for simply because her bracers could compress into very thick bracelets.

The stick clacked as it touched the ground. The dark clothed kid tapped it to the ground in time with his steps.

"An acquaintance?" Andrew asked. "With whom?" The kid sat across from Andrew and examined the chess board.

"I'm actually an acquaintance with three people," he said, "but you only know two of them." It clicked.

"You're on team FRST," Andrew said and, with nothing better to do, moved one of his pieces.

"That's correct," the kid said and he moved another black piece on the board. Andrew gave him a hard look.

"Team FRST hasn't exactly been kind to my teammates," he said.

The kid nodded in acknowledgement. "That's true. They really don't like you much."

"So give me a good reason not to just leave right now," Andrew said. "Your team hasn't exactly been kind to mine."

"Easy," the kid said, "I'm not them, and we're in the middle of a game. It doesn't matter if you like me or not, you'll stay to see it through."

"I could quit," Andrew countered as he moved a piece, "or put myself in a position to lose quickly. Then I could leave." The kid smiled and moved a piece of his own.

"We both know you're not like that," he said. "You're too driven to quit." He pointed to the board. "It's your move."

"Did Terra tell you that?" the Faunus asked as he moved a piece.

"She did, actually," the kid said, "but even if she hadn't I would've been able to tell. It's our job as huntsmen in training to learn how to read people and situations. To prepare ourselves for our opponent's next move." He moved another piece and glanced into Andrew's eyes.

"I'm actually rather interested in your team," the human said as he made his move.

"Thanks for the heads up," Andrew said dryly. "So what makes you hate us too?"

"What makes you think we hate you?"

"Gee, let me think," Andrew said sarcastically, and paused dramatically. The human interrupted.

"You're awfully defensive," he said, "not without justification, but you take it a bit far sometimes. Darren doesn't like you, and I doubt that will change any time soon. Terra enjoys getting people to act the way she wants them to, and Ray isn't fond of the Faunus. His reasons are his own, but you don't know anything about me. Maybe you should consider that before you try to judge my motives or interests."

Andrew closed his mouth and thought. This kid, clearly Steven Blackstone by process of elimination, was right. He was rather defensive, but experience had taught him to keep himself closed.

"Maybe you're right," the wolf allowed and moved another chess piece, "and maybe you're not. That's a discussion we can have another time. Meanwhile, what is your interest in my friends?"

"My job as a huntsman in training," Steven replied as the game continued. "I like to know my competition."

"Your competition?" Andrew asked. "I didn't realize we were competing for something."

Steven smiled. "Life is a competition," he said. "Mankind competes with the Grimm for territory and survival. Animals compete for food. Plants compete for water and sunlight. Everything competes."

"So we're all just battling to live?" Andrew asked. "The strongest survive?" He didn't hide the bite in his voice. He had learned to live thanks to some of that mentality, but he was starting to resent what it had cost him.

Something flashed in Steven's eyes. "No," he said with force. "The strong beat back the monsters who prey on those who can't defend themselves. They teach the weak so that they can become strong." He moved his Queen and added, "Check." Andrew moved a Castle and took the black Queen.

Steven moved one of his Knights and said, "And they sacrifice to protect the weak, so that they don't have to live in fear." He lifted his hand and said, "Checkmate." Then he stood, collected his cane and started walking out of the park.

"Wait!" Andrew called. Steven stopped. "Why did you come here?" he asked.

"I like the park," Steven answered, "and I wanted to see what you were like. Terra and Darren have spoken about you, and I wanted to judge you for myself."

"And?"

Steven turned and gave Andrew a wolfish smile. "And I think I like you, Deneem. I think I like you very much indeed."


	26. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The lush and bright red of Forever Fall held everyone in awed silence as the moved between the trees. Everyone kept looking about, examining the colors of the trees. Andrew had to admit, the forest was indeed beautiful. Only Marie seemed to be unmoved by the forest, her face remaining rather still, though her eyes did sweep around, taking everything in. Professor Goodwitch did not miss the awe the forest seemed to inspire in everyone.

"Yes, students," she said, "the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful."

"That's putting it lightly," Emily said.

"But," Goodwitch continued, "we are not here to sight see. Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

"I'm pretty sure most of us are fine," Andrew muttered. As if in response to his words, there was a little thud and some clattering as Jaune, carrying a box and a collection of jars, bumped into Cardin. The larger student half turned and gave Jaune an aggressive look and the blonde quickly performed the 'innocent' whistle while avoiding eye contact.

Andrew gave the two a look, trying to figure out what was going on between them. A couple of weeks ago, Cardin had gone from being Jaune's biggest enemy to his tyrannical boss seemingly overnight and the blonde put up with it and acted like a puppy too scared to leave its cruel master. Andrew had noticed this change after his team's night on the town. Jaune's lack of resistance infuriated him to no end.

He remembered days in the system, encountering other orphans who'd tried to bully him into submission. He'd learned to become stronger, faster, and cleverer than them.

It was a dark part of his history, but it had helped turn him into the man he was. One who wouldn't back down or be controlled by anyone other than himself.

Andrew took a breath and turned back to Goodwitch. Jaune was going to have to solve his own problems. He would have to find the strength to resist, or be taken.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap, however, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun."

The teams all went their separate ways, except for Jaune, who followed Cardin's order to leave with his team. If Goodwitch noticed this, she didn't say anything. Andrew spied out which way team FRST went and made sure that his teammates went in another direction.

Jaune hadn't been the only one acting out of character. Terra, of all people, had also been acting odd in the last couple weeks. He had caught her several times watching him and it put him on edge. Just like he had done to her all those years ago.

But sneaking around wasn't Terra's style. She was social in nature and liked to be surrounded by others. If she came after someone, it was through catspaws and subtle manipulation.

The wolf shook himself and listened to his teammates talk as they moved through the crimson forest.

"I can't believe that some place so beautiful can have something so evil in it," Emily was saying.

"Pardon?" Andrew asked.

"This forest," his leader replied and moved her arm in a sweeping gesture. "This has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and we've to come here armed and with a professional Huntress so we can gather some tree sap. It's sad."

"That's the way these things go," Marie said, kneeling at the base of a tree and unscrewing one of their jars. "Life just loves throwing an extra surprise at you."

"I don't mind surprises," Reginald said. "Surprises are fun."

"You're missing my point," Marie said.

"Which is?" Emily asked.

"That you can't take anything at face value. That things are never black and white. That there's always a catch with things that look too good to be true." She gestured at the forest. "This forest is a literal example of that. We're surrounded by natural beauty, but with that beauty comes the threat of darkness, of Grimm, and if we're not careful, we'll be taken by it." Andrew almost missed the added mutter of, "I learned that lesson a long time ago."

"You're just full of sunshine, aren't you?" Emily said. "Can't things just be as good as they seem? Even for a little while? Why do you always have to be pessimistic?"

"I'm just being a realist," Marie said and screwed the jar she was carrying closed. "Almost nothing would give me greater joy than being able to walk through this place without checking every rustling bush, but that's not reality. This is the world we live in, not the world we want."

Andrew went to his own tree and unscrewed his own jar lid, wondering what Marie had meant when she had said 'almost'.

The team worked for a while, filling their respective jars and passing comments back and forth to each other. The team had grown close enough at this point where periods of silence weren't very awkward.

"What do you think Professor Peaches wants with these anyway?" Reginald asked as he sealed his jar shut.

"Beats me," Andrew said, setting his jar down beside him. "I'm sure we'll find out next class though."

"One thing's for sure," Reginald said. "This stuff has got a strong scent. A sweet one, but a strong one."

Andrew nodded and then stiffened, just slightly. Reginald had turned to ask Marie a question and hadn't noticed. Andrew stood with practiced casuality and glanced around. There was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary, but he still felt uneasy.

"Something wrong, Andrew?" Marie asked. Emily and Reginald glanced at him and their positions shifted slightly. Andrew had known them long enough now to know that they were preparing in case of an attack. Andrew shook his head.

"I guess I'm just on edge because of what you said earlier," he said simply. "All that stuff about things seeming too true and all that." He picked up his jar of sap and added, "We should probably get some more sap. Maybe if we get enough Peaches will give us some extra credit."

Reginald flopped onto his back and said, "Eh, let's take the time to rest. We've still got plenty of time. We're not out of here until four anyway."

A sudden roar broke through the clearing. Everyone was on their feet in a flash, weapons drawn.

"What was that?" Emily asked. There was the sound of something coming through the brush and several people ran into the clearing. It took Andrew a moment to recognize them. Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark, three members of team CRDL. Cardin was suspiciously missing.

The three humans looked completely afraid as Reginald, Andrew, and Marie grabbed them.

"What's going on?" Marie asked.

"Ursa!" Russel yelled and tried to get free. Marie tightened her grip on his arm and Russel grunted in pain.

"Where's your leader, Cardin?" Emily asked.

"The Ursa's got him," Russel said. Marie's eyes narrowed.

"You left him behind?!" she yelled. "What were you idiots thinking?!" Emily glanced at Andrew.

"Can you go find Professor Goodwitch?"

"Of course," Andrew said. Anticipating her next words he added. "I'll be faster on my own. No offense." Emily nodded and Russel spoke up.

"What about us?" Russel asked. Marie's voice was grim when she answered.

"You're coming with us to see if we can save your leader before he gets turned into mince meat. I might not like him but I don't think even he deserves to die."

The group then split up. Everyone else began to retrace Russel, Sky, and Dove's steps through the forest while Andrew went in another direction, trying to find their teacher.

The faunus moved quickly and silently through the red trees that had only a few moments earlier seemed beautiful and serene. Now they appeared foreboding and deadly. A forest painted in blood.

He felt as if something was watching him and he spun around, pulling and extending _Fenrir's Fang_ in one smooth motion. Rather than seeing a Grimm, like he had expected, he saw Terra.

"What are you doing here?" Andrew asked, confusion nearly making him forget his errand. He couldn't stay too long.

"I was trying to figure out what all the commotion was about," The girl said slowly. Too slowly.

"There are some Ursa about. One is attacking Cardin. I'm looking for Goodwitch."

Terra's eyes locked onto Andrew and she asked, "What for?"

 _That_ unsettled Andrew. The answer seemed fairly obvious to him. "She needs to know. A couple of Ursa we can handle, but if anything serious heads our way we'll be in trouble."

"But it's Cardin," Terra said, her words sounding disjointed and fainter. "Why would you care what happens to him?"

Andrew's uneasiness grew more intense and he shifted his stance slightly. He noticed that Terra's hands were rather close to her sides.

"Why shouldn't I?" Andrew asked slowly. "He's a student the same as you and me. He doesn't deserve to be killed. Hopefully assistance isn't needed, but in either event, Goodwitch deserves to know."

"Since when have you ever played by the rules? I didn't think you helped the competition," Terra countered. Andrew raised an eyebrow at this.

"I seem to recall following the rules quite often. I just never followed _your_ rules."

"Yes, you are rather disobedient, aren't you?" Terra said, her voice now coming through clear and cold. Andrew's brow furrowed.

"What do you want?" he asked, with more force this time.

Something seemed to shift in Terra's eyes and pure, unadulterated hate radiated from the girl's body. " _You_ ," Terra said in a hiss. Then she lifted the pair of crescent guarded sword hilts from her sides. The hook blades extended from the hilts and Terra moved forward towards Andrew at blinding speed.


	27. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The rest of EMRD and CRDL made their way through the forest and eventually heard some sounds of combat. Emily quickened her pace, putting herself at the front of the group. She hoped they weren't too late to help.

The sounds of fighting suddenly stopped and a wave of cold went through her. The thought that they were too late loomed in her mind and she quickened her pace yet again.

The cat was moving so quickly that she nearly collided with Weiss Schnee. Annoyance crossed the heiress' face.

"Watch it," she said with an edge in her voice. "You almost ran into me." Emily went a touch pink with embarrassment and quickly apologized. Marie came to her rescue as Ruby Rose and Pyrrha Nikos joined the white haired girl.

"We heard fighting," she explained. "What's going on?"

Ruby opened her mouth, but Pyrrha beat her to it.

"Everything's fine," the red-head replied. "There was an Ursa attacking Cardin, but Jaune took care of it."

"Jaune?" Marie asked, skepticism clear in her voice.

"Yes," Pyrrha replied evenly. "He happened to be close by. Cardin was lucky he was near."

"Have you seen Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asked. "We sent the rest of our teams to look for her in case there were more nearby."

"Haven't seen her," Reginald said. "Andrew went to look for her too, just after we picked these guys up."

As if she was waiting for the cue, Goodwitch came up to the crowd of students.

"What's going on?" she asked. "I was told there was an Ursa attack." Pyrrha beat everyone else to the explanation and Goodwitch looked as skeptical as Marie had, but she didn't voice any doubts. The remainder of teams RWBY and JNPR arrived shortly thereafter and Reginald took a look around.

"Um, Professor Goodwitch?" he asked, raising a hand.

Glynda turned to face the ram. "Yes?"

"Where's my partner?"

The professor's eyes narrowed. "He isn't with you?"

Marie shook her head. "He went looking for you after we found the rest of Cardin's team," she said.

Emily's blood ran cold and she let out a small gasp. She took off back into the woods. "We have to find him!" she yelled.

* * *

Andrew parried another attack from Terra and backed away quickly, staying just outside of her range. The girl's assault on him had been vicious and determined and it was taking all of his effort to hold her off.

Something was different about Terra, he was sure of that now.

After his confrontation with her at Herald she had moved to Mistral and presumably gone to a new combat school. Those years in Mistral had clearly served her well. But even those years in Mistral couldn't explain how _strong_ she suddenly was.

He'd always been a better fighter than her, especially when it came to physical strength. It had always come naturally to him. But now he was barely fending back Terra's attacks. Even though he was holding back, it wasn't by much.

Not only was her physical toughness and skill enhanced, but she was also acting more directly than he had ever seen her before. Terra normally got others to do her dirty work for her. Directly attacking someone unexpectedly wasn't her style. Not by a long shot.

Even in a fight, she preferred to play with her food before eating it. Her traditional tactics were clever evasion and a death by a thousand cuts. This direct and brutal style of fighting was completely out of character for her and Andrew was having trouble adjusting to the change. At least she hadn't begun to use her Semblance yet. But if she started to…

Terra attacked again and Andrew decided that it was time to stop playing around. Help didn't seem to be coming any time soon and if he didn't press the attack he very well might end up dead.

He waited for her to prepare her next attack and used his Semblance, crafting a pair of illusory copies that joined at his legs. The illusions that flanked him moved to attack each of her sides as he moved to attack her front.

Terra knew his Semblance, but even she would be vulnerable to the psychological effect it was meant to generate. She wouldn't be able to tell which attack was the real one and would have to fall back or try to block as many as she could. She would fall to attack if he timed it right.

Andrew was therefore completely caught off guard when Terra adjusted her weapons to block the center attack and tore the staff from his hands with the hooks of her weapons and knocking him off balance.

"You're holding back," Terra hissed as Andrew fell back. "That'll cost you."

The wolf's mind reeled. There shouldn't have been any way for her to detect where he was. While it was true that she could have guessed which version of him had been real, she hadn't even blinked at the image of him attacking her from multiple sides. She had blocked him immediately and without even considering that he might have been one of the other two attackers. There was more than simply increased skill at work here. She had, somehow, _known_ which image was him.

While his mind tried to figure out what had happened, his body acted on complete reflex.

"Dream on, Terra," he said and spun, knocking Terra's feet out from under her before quickly rising and going for his cast aside weapon.

Andrew grabbed his staff and turned, immediately spinning the weapon to knock away a flurry of green glowing leaves heading for his head.

It was a lot more difficult than it would've looked to an outside observer. The leaves weren't actually leaves, but parts of Terra's aura manifested and given the appearance of leaves. Andrew knew from experience that she could also adjust the composition of the leaves to be harder than steel or as light as feathers if she so chose.

It was a powerful Semblance and hard to counter because there was no visual clue to how strong the leaves would be and also because they were directed and controlled by Terra's mind rather than purely normal physics.

The rotation of _Fenrir's Fang_ , however, was enough to knock the leaves off course.

"You can't keep up a defense up for very long," Terra said as she made the leaves scatter and circle around her. Her voice sounded distorted and broken as she spoke. "You'll wear out soon. And then you're _mine_!" The leaves surged forward once again and Andrew prepared to counter once more. He activated his own Semblance and was immediately surrounded by a group of identical versions of himself.

It was a delaying tactic and they both knew it. If Terra could indeed sense a difference between himself and his illusions, then her leaves would move straight toward him. If she couldn't, however, then she would have to waste a few seconds searching for him. A few seconds where he could act.

Something hard, heavy, and metallic slammed into the back of Andrew's head and he dropped like a marionette with its strings cut.

From his stunned position on the ground, the Faunus saw an arc of fire cut through Terra's Semblance, forcing the girl to leap out of the way. Then something invisible blasted past him and into Terra from the side. She was knocked into the air as if had been hit by a truck and collided heavily with a nearby tree before falling to the ground. Terra's aura crackled and burst as she hit the ground.

A voice called out from the trees. "It's clear," it said and Darren Forrester stepped over Andrew, kicking him in the side as he passed. Steven Blackstone stepped out of the trees, his cane raised in an attack position.

The green armored leader walked to his collapsed subordinate and leaned down to look at her.

"And just what," Darren said, "do you think you're doing?"

Terra gave her leader a scathing look and snapped, "What do you care? It's not like you like him." Her voice was filled with hate and still sounded off, but it was less distorted than earlier.

"Oh, you're right," Darren replied, "I don't like him. Not one bit. Be that as it may, you still didn't answer my question. Let me be more specific, just in case Steven hit you a little too hard."

Darren's voice was slow and measured as he asked, "What on Remnant do you think you're doing attacking a fellow classmate, regardless of your feelings about him, in the middle of a trip supervised by a fully fledged Huntress who will not hesitate to put you down and haul you in front of Ozpin so fast that your head will spin?" Terra's breathing was increasing as Darren held his swords close to the downed girl, his voice lowering into something dangerously calm. "What in the name of Remnant are you doing putting everyone here in danger by letting off so much negative emotion that it's a wonder we haven't been swarmed by Grimm?"

By this point, Andrew had recovered enough to sit up and look at FRST. The Faunus was absolutely amazed. The last person he expected to see defending him was Darren. He looked at Terra, waiting for her reply.

The girl didn't speak and after a moment she curled into a ball and shuddered. The hate and power seemed to evaporate and Terra was left shivering. Darren grunted and rose to his feet, sheathing his swords.

"Steven, collect Terra and go and get our things. It's almost four. Ray and I will catch up with you in a minute."

The dark clad human nodded and helped Terra to her feet, leading her away from the clearing by a route that would keep Terra out of range of Andrew. The girl was drenched in sweat and still slightly shivering.

The wolf got to his feet and said without preamble, "You hit your head or something?" Darren faced Andrew and stuck out his chin in a belligerent manner.

"What are you talking about?" the knight countered.

"Since when do you defend me?" Andrew asked, confusion and curiosity slipping into his voice. "I'm grateful, don't get me wrong, but the last time we spoke you made it pretty clear that you wanted to make me miserable. That hit to my head certainly added to that conclusion. So why are you helping me?" Darren gave Andrew a look.

"I fully intend to get you back for what you did," the knight said. "It'd be a little hard to do that if you were dead, now wouldn't it?" And then he left. There was some movement from a nearby tree that followed him back into the forest.

Andrew stared after him and then a wry smile appeared on his face. Some small part of him really wanted to see the day Darren would try and get his revenge. It would certainly be interesting to see how it would all play out.

There was a brief sound of movement before Emily burst through the trees and skidded to a stop when she saw Andrew.

"Oh, Dust," she said, letting out a breath, "you're safe." A moment later the rest of his team appeared followed by teams RWBY, JNPR, and Professor Goodwitch.

"What happened?" the teacher asked. Andrew hesitated. As much as he didn't like Terra, Darren appeared to have made some kind of point to her. Not only that, but she hadn't been acting like herself. He wasn't sure if he wanted to recount what he'd experienced just now.

"I… uh, tripped," he said lamely. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow.

"You tripped?" she inquired, not bothering to hide her doubt. Andrew nodded.

"Yeah," the wolf said. "I was moving through the trees to avoid any Grimm attention and my foot caught another branch and I fell out of the tree. Hit my head." He massaged the lump on his head that was forming where Darren had struck him. Goodwitch gave him a hard look.

"Mr. Deneem, you realize that you could've been killed, correct? If we hadn't come when we had you might've been found by the Grimm and killed. Why weren't you with your team?"

Emily shuffled her feet and said, "It's my fault, Professor. I didn't send anyone else with him to find you."

"Only because I insisted that I was faster on my own," Andrew quickly added, trying to keep Goodwitch's wrath away from Emily. The last thing she needed was a tongue lashing from Goodwitch. The professor's eyes moved from one Faunus to the other.

"We are going to have a talk when we get back to Beacon," she said sternly. Emily's shoulders slumped and Andrew nodded. Goodwitch addressed everyone then, "We need to go to the rendezvous. Let's go."

 **Author's note: Hey guys and gals! I just want to say that I am so sorry for such a sporadic posting schedule. I really don't have any excuse other than my scattered brain. I've never been very good with maintaining a schedule without a deadline as a motivation. For those of you who have stuck around through all of this, thank you so much. You make posting this story worth it. For those of you who find my story and favorite and follow it, thank you as well. It's an awesome feeling to get those notifications and your reviews.  
** **And now let's have some fun. As Gizmo Gear mentioned in a review, Steven acts a bit like Ozpin. That was actually unintentional. He is, however, based heavily on a character I love. The first person who can guess that character in a review gets a shoutout. TorchPhilosopher, you do not qualify for this. And anyone who hasn't already, should absolutely check out his story A Fox's Tale. It is incredible. The character Steven is based on is male and from a book series. If that ends up being too vague I can drop more hints in later chapters.  
** **And as always, don't forget to favorite, follow, and drop a review! Until next time! Ciao!**


	28. Chapter 23

**Author's note: Hooray! Another chapter! I want to make up for lost time before RTX rolls around. I'll have another author's note at the end to answer a question I've gotten. Until then, on with the show!**

 **Chapter 23**

Weeks passed and the Vytal festival drew closer. Reginald had once again persuaded his teammates to spend their friday in the city, although with less resistance than the first time.

Instead of separating into their own different activities, however, this time they were trying things to do as a group.

"The first time was R&R," the ram had said. "Now just try to think of it as team bonding."

EMRD wandered down the city streets, commenting and looking at the collection of decorations that were being set up all around. Their discussion had turned to the idea of the tournament.

"Just think about it," Andrew was saying animatedly. "We're going to get the chance to see how the other kingdoms train their huntsmen and huntresses. The things we can learn just by watching them fight could be huge."

"I actually overheard Weiss talking with someone who said students from Vaccuo are arriving by boat today," Reginald commented.

"Guys, there's more to the festival than the tournament," Emily insisted. "I'm more interested in the culture and the dances and expos than the fighting."

"Yet you're training to be a Huntress," Andrew countered. Emily gave him a look.

"Just because I'm more interested in the culture doesn't mean I don't appreciate fighting," Emily said. "I just care more about the why rather than the how."

Andrew opened his mouth to counter, but Marie cut him off.

"Look over there!" she said and rushed off towards a storefront that was surrounded by police tape. The rest of her team caught up just in time to hear one of the police officers talking to team RWBY, who had gathered there as well.

"Robbery," one of the officers was saying to the group of girls. "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." He turned his back on the girls and approached his counterpart.

The other officer spoke up saying, "They left all the money again."

"Yeah it just doesn't make a lick of sense," The first officer said to his partner. "Who needs that much Dust?"

"I don't know an army?"

"You thinkin' the uh the White Fang?"

"Yeah I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough."

Marie ducked under the line of police tape as team RWBY turned aside to talk amongst themselves. The two officers noticed and opened their mouths to say something to Marie, but she beat them to it.

"Come on, guys. You two know I'm allowed to be here," she said and nodded to the two cops. "Burns, Heyman. It's good to see you again."

The first officer, Burns, said, "Oohh, hey short stuff. It's been a while hasn't it?"

"What can we do for ya', shorty?" the second officer, Heyman, asked.

"Just checking in on you guys. Oliver told me things were getting hectic. Any ideas on what happened?"

"We were just talkin' about the White Fang," Heyman said. "We're thinkn' that they been robbin' Dust shops so that they could do somethin'." Then he noticed the rest of team EMRD. "Well, look who it is," he added and nodded to the gathered faunus.

Burns turned and said, "Oh look. It's the trouble maker. And, uh, what might you be doin' round here, buddy?"

"Maybe causin' a little trouble," Heyman said. "Lookin' for ways to draw some attention?"

"Oh, Dust," Andrew said and rolled his eyes, vividly remembering these two from his quick trip to the VPD before he went to Beacon. Marie came to his rescue before the cops could hit their stride.

"Hey, guys," the maroonette said, snapping her fingers. "He's with me. Why do you think it's the White Fang?" The cops turned their attention back to Marie and completely ignored the rest of her teammates.

"Well, who else could it be?" Heyman said. "They certainly got a motive."

"What about Torchwick?" Marie asked. "He was stopped robbing a Dust shop a few months back. Why isn't he on you suspect list?"

"Haven' seen hide nor 'air of him since he got stopped by some little girl durin' that case. Guy's got no need for this much Dust anyway, the Fang's more likely."

Any further discussion was cut off by a shout form the nearby docks.

"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"

RWBY, EMRD, and the two cops rushed over to look out at the docks and saw a monkey faunus with blonde hair and a blonde colored tail leap off of a docked cargo ship.

"Thanks for the ride guys!" he called and ran down the dock and hanging upside down on a nearby light.

"You no good stowaway!" one of the dock workers yelled after him.

The monkey seemed moved into a response, calling back, "Hey! A no good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!"

"Kinda cocky isn't he?" Andrew asked his teammates as one of the officers threw a large rock at the faunus as they approached. The monkey dodged and looked at the two cops, holding a peeled banana in his hand.

"Hey!" Burns yelled to the faunus. "Get down form there this instant."

The faunus threw the banana peel at Burns' face and the cop growled. The monkey then flipped so that he was crouching on the light, laughed and launched himself over the cops and landed further down the dock. He then took off with the police giving chase.

"Should we help them?" Emily asked, glancing at Marie.

"Yeah, I probably should," the human said. "You guys shouldn't get involved. The cops know me better. I'll catch up later."

By this time the faunus and police had run past them and Marie joined the chase. She was shortly followed by the entirety of team RWBY.

Reginald looked between his remaining teammates and said, "Well, that was something. What should we do now?"

"Does anyone else find it odd that Marie can just walk into a crime scene, no questions asked?" Andrew asked. "The two cops were the ones I had to deal with when I got sent to the station. And she made them back down in a few seconds."

"I guess there's more to her than we realized," Emily said. "What do you think, Reg?"

The ram didn't answer for a moment. After an appropriately dramatic pause he only had one question.

"Shorty?"

* * *

Marie quickly caught up with Burns and Heyman and followed the faunus down a side street, barely dodging an orange haired girl at the turn. The monkey seemed to realize he was still being followed because he quickly jumped, grabbing a low ledge and flipped towards the roof of the building.

Burns and Heyman began to slow down while Marie didn't even break her stride. She tapped into her Semblance, feeling the energy moving towards her legs, and kicked off of the ground. Her momentum sent her to the wall of a nearby building and she pushed off of it and landed on the same roof the Faunus had as if she was on the moon.

"Uh-oh," he said, quickly looking behind him and putting in an extra burst of speed.

"You're not getting away that easily," she called after him and once again gave chase.

The blonde leapt from roof to roof trying to shake her, but Marie kept after him and even started gaining ground.

"Come on!" he yelled back to her. "All I did was sneak on a boat! Cut a guy some slack will ya?" Marie didn't bother answering with words, tapping once more into her Semblance instead and surging closer to him.

The monkey jumped off the roof back down towards street level. It wasn't until Marie followed him that she realized she had been played. Rather than dropping to the ground like she had thought, the faunus had grabbed hold of a flag pole and was hanging off of it as she dropped past him.

The huntress in training dropped into a 3 quarters full dumpster, landing on her back. She had a perfect angle to see the blonde flip back onto the roof, give her a jaunty salute and take off.

She growled in frustration and started to get out of the dumpster to give chase again when an odd feeling rushed over her and she froze.

It was a cold, dark feeling and seemed to be radiating from somewhere nearby. It reminded her eerily of the creatures of Grimm. But that was impossible. If Grimm had entered the city all sorts of alarms would have been going off.

Footsteps approached and Marie moved a slightly squashed box over herself to make sure she was concealed. She hoped there was nothing rotten in the box. The last thing she needed was a bigger reason to get a shower the nanosecond she got back on campus.

The footsteps were irregular, almost panicked or nervous and were accompanied by short breaths.

Someone else approached outside the dumpster and said, "What are you doing here? It's broad daylight." The voice was low, cold, and slightly distorted, as if the speaker wore a mask or had some way of filtering his voice. It might have been a male's but that might have just been another trick of the filter.

"I-I-I-I know man," another voice stuttered. "B-B-But I really n-needed to talk to you. I t-t-think there's something wrong m-man. T-t-that stuff y-y-you gave me. I d-don't think it's agreeing with me man. It's m-m-making me f-f-feel things."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" the cold voice said. "To feel things? To get a rush? Isn't that what you people look for?"

Marie couldn't figure out what was going on. The second person didn't sound right. As if something was eating at him, literally.

"Y-y-yeah," the second voice said, clearly not bothering to make any kind of argument until he made his point. "B-b-b-but this is d-d-different. I d-don't feel good. I f-feel, wrong. L-l-like somethin's tryin'a kill m-me. Inside, ya'know? W-w-what was in t-t-that stuff man? You gotta tell me."

"No," the cold voice said. "I don't know what you mean. And no, I don't have to tell you." There was a click and then a quiet brrp, from a silenced firearm. There was the thud of a falling body, then the cold voice said, "Addicts are such a waste." Then the voice's owner walked away with heavy, methodical steps.

Marie stayed frozen in the dumpster, listening to her heart pound. Under normal circumstances, she would've gotten involved long before the weapon had been pulled. But there was nothing normal about what had just happened. The sensation she had felt hadn't been normal. It had been unnatural, abnormal. No, it had been evil.

The maroonette shoved aside the box covering her and slowly got up to look at her surroundings. The alleyway was completely deserted. There wasn't a sign that anything had gone down. Marie looked, desperately, up and down the alley but there was nothing. No evident footprints, no bullet casing, and no _body_. There wasn't a trace of death. There was no way that the owner of the cold voice had dragged the body away, she would've been able to tell.

She didn't dare get out of the dumpster. If there was any forensic evidence there she dared not leave in case she compromised it. With shaking hands she pulled out her scroll and called the only person she could think of. There were several buzzes as she waited for the person to answer. After what felt like an eternity, they picked up.

"VPD, this is Detective-"

"Oliver?" Marie asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Marie?" the cop asked, his tone shifting immediately. "What's wrong?" The maroonette took a shuddering breath.

"Remember those cases you told me about? I think I stumbled into one of them."

 **Author's note: Thank you very much for your constructive criticism, Arlnoff. That is actually an issue I want to quickly address. I do realize that these chapters come across as choppy, and I am happy to say that it isn't my style of writing. Unfortunately, it USED to be more my style. When I first started working on EMRD it wound up being styled very much after RWBY volume 1, which was rough around the edges as well. I also have a problem reworking old material. I can't help thinking that I can't possibly word it any better than I did before (even when I know that's not true). My biggest problem with EMRD isn't actually the chapter length, but the division and flow of events. Just like RWBY volume 1, an event comes up and then it is resolved, until the signs of something greater started popping up and then everything clicked into place. The same is happening here.  
** **This chapter marks the shift in EMRDs narrative. The choppiness should hopefully either stop, or at least get smaller, from here on. The storm is coming, and team EMRD, along with you guys and girls, are finally beginning to hear the rumbles. I hope that the events will flow more naturally into each other and that I can keep your curiosity piqued.**

 **As always, don't forget to favorite, follow, and leave a review! Another hint about Steven is that he, as well as the character he is based on, is a caster. Until next time! Ciao!**


	29. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Okay, Marie," Oliver said. "Let me repeat this just so that I'm sure I've got this right."

They were sitting in one of the interview rooms of the Vale police department. Oliver had set a cup of coffee in front of them both and then listened to Marie's account of her afternoon, making notes on a pad of paper.

"You fell into the dumpster after the faunus you were pursuing pulled a fox trick." The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile and he corrected himself. "Monkey trick, actually. Then, when you were about to go after him again, you heard a supposed drug addict and what you believe to be a dealer have a conversation about something that the dealer had given the addict before shooting him and leaving."

Marie's shoulders almost imperceptibly drooped and she said, "Yeah. That's pretty much it."

"You didn't see either of them?" Oliver asked. Marie shook her head.

"No, I only heard them and, honestly, I don't think I wanted to see them." The detective gave Marie a look. "You didn't hear his voice," she said. "It was…" the huntress in training searched for the right word. "Cold, and I mean _cold_. Blizzards are warmer than this voice. Cold and completely _calm_. He spoke to the other guy and killed him without any hesitation. There wasn't a trace of emotion in his voice. No pleasure, remorse, satisfaction, boredom, nothing. He sounded like it was just something that was on a check list. Clean the gutters, pick up groceries, kill a man in an alleyway. And the other guy sounded like he was being eaten from the inside out. He didn't sound right either."

Oliver nodded and continued writing in his pad. Marie waited for him to finish, trying to process what she had heard and trying to understand her reaction. She was training to be a freaking huntress. Why was a murder in an alley getting to her? Death was something she'd come to terms with a long time ago. So was crime and hate. So what was so special about this? The detective finished his notes and let out a breath.

"We had a forensic team do a full sweep of that alleyway," he said. "There was nothing. No bullet casing, no fingerprints, no foot prints or scuff marks, no body. Hell, there wasn't even a sign of a bullet anywhere in that alleyway. The only thing that was out of place was that everything was _too_ clean. There wasn't a hint of a finger print or hair anywhere in that entire alleyway."

Oliver scratched his head. "If it were anybody else and if we didn't have a small stack of incidents just like this I'd have said you were watching too many horror movies."

Marie shot him a glare and he raised his hands defensively. "I'm just telling you the facts, kid. I can let the others know what you've said, but we can't investigate something that doesn't have anything to investigate." Marie sighed.

"I know," she said. "This sucks." Oliver took one of Marie's hands in his.

"Look. The guys and girls here will keep an eye out over the next couple of days. Maybe someone will report your mystery addict missing and we'll have something to work with. You're one of us."

"What can I do to help?" Marie asked.

"You can help by going back to Beacon," he said. Marie opened her mouth, but the detective raised a hand. "I know you want to help," he said. "But let us do our thing first. I'll call you in a couple days and let you know if we've found anything. Okay? But right now I want you to stay with your friends at Beacon where you'll be safe." Marie let out a breath of frustration, but she nodded. He did have a point. Oliver smiled and patted her shoulder. "Come on." He said and stood. "I'll take you back."

* * *

It was late when Marie finally got back to campus. In the low light Marie was only barely visible in her maroon jean jacket and dark shirt and pants. Thoughts swirled around in her head, trying to organize themselves into something cohesive and concrete. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was going on.

Amongst the many things she had been taught by her parents, she had also learned to trust her gut. Her gut was telling her that there was something she was missing. Something important.

The sound of rapid footsteps broke her line of thought and Marie acted out of reflex. Considering the scare she had gotten earlier, she figured she would be justified in some extra caution.

But accidentally murdering a potential fellow student probably wouldn't sit well with Professor Ozpin or the cops, so she kicked on her Semblance and used the new energy directed towards her legs to quickly move to the side and out of sight in some shadows.

Marie caught sight of Blake Belladonna running through the courtyard before coming to a stop in front of the statue at the center. Marie couldn't quite see the black haired girl's face, but there was something in her bearing that seemed… off.

In the handful of times Marie had seen Blake casually, she had gotten the impression that she was the quiet type. The maroonette had often seen her in the library reading, which helped give her an almost bookish air. As a contrast, in combat practice Blake had always cool, confident, and competent. The girl was able to almost flawlessly transition between several different combat styles and was extremely adaptable and even almost graceful.

No matter where she was, though, she always seemed to be on guard. It was a subtle thing, but Marie had noticed that Blake never seemed to be entirely relaxed. It was as if she expected something to happen at any moment.

Whatever had recently happened to the girl, it had removed the guarded air around her. Blake looked… vulnerable. It was as if some hidden foundation had been violently removed from the girl's mind and she was terrified. Considering her day, Marie could sympathize.

Marie watched from the shadows as the black haired girl stared at the statue and slowly lifted her hands to the bow at her head. With a quick, practiced motion, she untied the bow and brought the strip of cloth down to her side. What Marie saw made her jaw drop.

A pair of black cat ears rose out of the girl's head. The pair of fuzzy, adorable appendages could only mean one thing.

"She's a faunus," Marie whispered to herself. Her gut twisted with a mix of emotions and she fought them back. Her past had nothing to do with the girl. Was it strange to hide the ears? Yes, it was. But it was her right.

"I knew you would look better without the bow," a chipper, male voice said. Marie nearly leapt out of her skin. She had gotten so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed someone approach Blake from behind. It took her a half second to realize who it was.

The monkey faunus didn't seem at all fazed by Blake's ears and apparently neither faunus had noticed Marie hiding in the shadows. Some small part of her wanted to tackle the monkey and haul him to the VPD.

There would be some small amount of pleasure at seeing the look of surprise on the monkey's face when, hours after his escape, he was caught just when he thought he was safe.

It was the look on Blake's face that changed her mind. She girl looked lost and alone. Marie felt a pang of empathy when she looked at Blake. She understood, at least on some primal, emotional level, what Blake might have been going through. She didn't know anything, of course, but the understanding was still there.

She made an exception, just this once, and decided that Blake would need the company more than the VPD needed to see the blonde haired faunus. She did, however, make a mental note to tackle the guy the first chance she got afterward.

She quietly made her exit from the courtyard and managed to make it back to her team's dorm without Blake catching her. The marital artist stopped just in front of the door to her team's dorm room and tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

She was suddenly struck with the thought that she didn't want them to be in danger. If she told them about what had happened in the alley, they might want to get involved. If Oliver had wanted her out of the way for a couple days, then there wasn't any need to her team involved. Making up her mind, she reached for the door knob.

The door opened a nano second before Marie's hand could touch the knob. Marie blinked in surprise and met the eyes of her partner. Marie opened her mouth but the air rushed out of her lungs and Emily gave her a bear hug.

"I was starting to get worried," she said. "You've been gone for hours." Marie was having trouble replying due to the fact that air wouldn't return to her lungs. She tapped her hands on Emily's back, trying to signal the cat that she was being asphyxiated. Reginald came to her rescue.

"Uh, Emily?" he said as gently as he could through suppressed laughter. "I think you're strangling your partner."

Emily's eyes widened and she quickly released the human girl with a quick apology.

"It's fine, Emily," Marie said. The fighter closed the door and continued. "I'm guessing that you were all wondering where I was."

"Not really," Reginald said simply and his eyes went back to his _X-ray & Vav_ comic.

"It's not like you snuck out or anything," Andrew said from his chess set. "You can handle yourself."

"Oh," Marie replied, slightly surprised. She hadn't expected that. It certainly made dodging what she'd seen easier. "Ok, then."

"Did you catch that guy?" Reginald asked. "Did you do your kinda kung fu thing and give him a serving of justice?" Marie rolled her eyes.

"First, it's mixed martial arts. Second, can you reference anything other than those ridiculous comics, Reginald?" The gold ram looked up from his comic with a puzzled look on his face.

"What comics are you referring to?" he asked, his voice mirroring his facial expression. Marie sat down at her desk, turning her chair to face the ram.

"The one you have in your hands," she said. Reginald gave her an affronted look.

"I'm offended that you would suggest such a thing," he said. "These aren't ridiculous comics. They're a cultural wonder!" Marie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," the maroonette said.

"I'm with Marie on this one," Andrew contributed. Reginald turned to Andrew, a look of horror now adorning his face.

"I can't believe my own partner would say something so horrible!" he exclaimed in horror. He looked to Emily for an appeal.

The blonde cat lightly lifted her hands and said, "Don't look at me. I'm not getting involved."

"Anyway," Marie said, taking back the conversational ball. "To answer your question, no. I chased him across the roofs for a little while before he pulled some monkey trick and slipped away."

"Monkey trick?" Emily asked. Marie shrugged.

"What else do you call a stunt that involves jumping off a building, grabbing a convenient flag pole and flipping back onto the roof and sneaking away?"

"Parkour?" Reginald suggested.

"Impressive," Andrew said.

"I'll be sure to tell him that the next time I see him," Marie replied. "Right after I knock him over and yell 'Gotcha.'" Then she remembered her discovery about Blake and fell silent.

"Something wrong?" Emily asked. Marie shook herself.

"What? Oh, no, sorry. I'm just tired. I'm probably going to turn in soon if that's okay."

"It's not a problem," Emily replied. Marie smiled.

"Thanks," she said and walked to her closet to get out her sleep wear. Then she stepped behind the little partition they had set up for some privacy when changing. As she changed she heard the door open and Andrew speak.

"Reg and I will be in the gym if you need us," he said.

"Sure," Emily replied. "Don't work yourself to death." Marie could imagine Andrew's quick smile. Then she heard the door close and footsteps drift away. After a moment of silence, Emily spoke up.

"Are you okay, Marie? You were gone for hours." Marie was glad that she was behind the partition. She didn't want to reveal how scared she still was.

"I'm fine," she replied in what she hoped was an even voice. "I just gave that stowaway a good chase and then told the boys in blue about it and where I'd last seen him." Which was completely true, if missing a few details.

"Okay," Emily said. "I just worry about you sometimes, that's all." Marie finished changing and came around the partition. Emily had sat down at her desk while she had changed.

"I'm not some defenseless child, Emily," she countered. "I can handle myself."

"I know that," Emily said. "That doesn't mean that I won't worry. I do the same thing when Reg or Andrew is out for a long time." Marie smiled.

"You really are our leader," she said. Emily let out a quick laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're more a leader than I am. Ozpin should've chosen you." Marie simply shook her head.

"I'm no leader. Trust me." For one thing, leaders didn't freak out when they heard a murder. They took action to prevent harm.

The human climbed into her bed as Emily turned down the lights. The faunus kept the reading light on her desk on as she picked up a note pad and pencil. Marie hadn't realized how tired she actually was, because she dropped off almost instantly.


	30. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It was completely dark when Marie woke with a start. It was pretty standard at this point. The night terrors that she'd been experiencing for years had always made a solid sleep schedule difficult. The human slowly sat up, making sure not to make noise so as not to disturb her teammates' rest.

After she looked around, she was surprised to find that none of her teammates were even in the room. She glanced at her scroll to check the time. 3 AM. So where was everyone?

The martial artist climbed out of bed and cautiously moved towards Emily's desk, where the notepad was resting, half off the desk. She clicked on the desk lamp so she could see more clearly.

The pad had the beginnings of a drawn picture on it. The image still appeared to be in the rough stages and was marred by a thick line that went from one end of the page to the other. As if Emily had been suddenly forced away from her work.

Marie set the pad down as what felt like a rock settled into her stomach. Something wasn't right. Where was everybody? She pocketed her scroll and left the room as quietly as she could. She tried to remember where Andrew and Reginald had gone. The gym, that was it.

She set off as fast as she could without making noise. If she could find the others, they could work together to find Emily. If she was lucky, Emily was with them and this was just an overreaction.

It wasn't long before she reached the gym. The sensation of dread and only increased as she traveled. It seemed to be radiating from something nearby. She wished that she had her weapons. It would certainly provide more of a sense of security than the loose shirt and pants she wore to sleep.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, and then passed through the doors. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't in the gym. But rather in the practice arena that Goodwitch held her classes in.

"What?" Marie muttered to herself. "When did I-" She was cut off by the sound of laughter. The laugh was slow and low. The laugh was cold and empty.

"Admirable," the voice commented. "I'm glad you came. It saves me the trouble of finding you. As much as I enjoy the hunt." Marie spun around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. "You understand how I can't afford any loose ends," the voice continued. "It's nothing personal. It's just business."

"Where's Emily?!" Marie shouted, fighting to keep the fear out of her voice. "Where're my friends?!"

The cold voice tsked in disappointment.

"I thought you were smarter than that," it said. "You should know what I mean by loose ends." Marie felt like she'd been dumped into a bucket of ice.

"No," She said. "No. You wouldn't!"

"Friends are loose ends, Miss Bordeaux. You know that. I don't know what you've told them. I have to protect my interests." Marie spun around, trying to find the voice.

"Where are they?!" she demanded, her voice shaking. "Tell me where they are and I might leave you alive enough to rot in prison!" She suddenly realized that she was in her combat gear. Her bracers' comfortable weight gave her some confidence. She would hurt this person, a lot.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," the voice commented casually.

Marie swung her arms and the short blades built into the bracers slid out, the metal gleaming in the light that shone down on her.

"Tell me!" she screamed. The voice laughed again.

"If you want to know," the voice said from behind her. "Then strike-" Marie activated her semblance and poured power into her legs, the limbs glowing grey with her aura. Everything blurred as she moved with blinding speed. She stopped directly behind the large, dark figure that had appeared behind her. She shoved the energy from her legs to her arms, the light moving to her upper body. With a primal scream, she slashed her arms horizontally at the figure's waist.

The figure let out a grunt of surprise and pain, and then collapsed with its legs separated from its body.

Marie let out a breath and turned around to see Andrew and Reginald sprawled on the ground. The faunus' weapons lay on the ground not far from their owners. The two were clearly dead and it looked like they'd gone down fighting.

Marie let out a choked sob and her legs gave out. She was too late. She'd taken her time and been cautious before arriving. If she'd moved faster, gone for speed rather than her own safety, maybe they'd be alive. Then she wouldn't have failed.

There was a whimper not far away. It took Marie a moment to realize that it hadn't come from her.

"Emily!" She shouted and struggled to her feet. She started stumbling towards the sound. "Please be alive," she whispered to herself. "Please be alive. Please be alive. Dust, please let her be alive."

After what felt like an eternity she found the girl. Emily was huddled in a corner with her arms wrapped around her legs, her face buried into her body so she wouldn't have to see. The faunus was shivering with fear. Her weapon was shattered around her.

Marie withdrew the blades on her bracers and knelt down in front of the cat.

"Emily?" She asked as gently as she could. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay." Her leader's shaking lessened and it looked like she was trying to compose herself. "Can you look at me?" Marie asked. "I just want to see if you're okay."

Emily's head whipped up to stare directly into hers. Emily's face wasn't right. Her normally light blue eyes had been replaced with pure, glowing red orbs and her oval shaped face was faced covered by a white bone mask streaked with lines and patterns of red. It wasn't the face of her leader. It was the face of a Grimm. 'Emily' let out a long, loud, tortured scream and she gabbed hold of Marie with a deathly strong grip.

Marie reacted with adrenaline fueled reflexes. She tapped into her semblance once again and struck with bone breaking force to try and get the monstrosity off of her.

There was a shriek of surprise and pain followed by a loud crash. Marie backed away and moved into a defensive position. At least, she tried to. Her legs were tangled up in something which complicated the action. She was also apparently on an elevated surface because as she backed up she fell off and hit the ground with a solid thud.

Marie pushed herself away until her back met something solid. Then she curled into a defensive ball and hoped she had stunned or scared the monster away. She heard movement and curled herself up tighter, praying that the thing would leave.

"Marie?" a girl's voice asked gently. "What's wrong?"

"Don't try to trick me with her voice!" she snapped. "I know you're not her!" Whatever was moving stopped, as if in surprise. There was several moments of silence before the voice spoke again. Or rather, sang.

 _"Long ago, before we met._

 _I dreamt about you._

 _The peace you'd bring._

 _The songs we'd sing._

 _The way you'd make things new._

 _Then, one day, you arrived._

 _I heard your angel cry._

 _Helpless, small, and perfect._

 _Welcome to your life."_

Marie knew that song. Her mother used to sing it to her when she was a little girl. Sometimes she would sing it at her mother's grave. A homage to better times.

She knew that voice too. It was beautiful, elegant, and graceful like its owner. There was no way that monstrosity could do this. The maroonette slowly uncurled and peeked over her knees.

"Emily?" she asked, her voice small and scared. The faunus was crouched at the edge of the two beds that were on either side of Marie. She didn't stop singing as the human moved towards her. When they were close enough together, Emily wrapped her arms around Marie, stroking a hand through her maroon tresses.

Marie felt the tension leave her body and she sobbed into her leader's shoulder as Emily continued the song. She held onto the faunus tightly, making sure she was real and that she wasn't going anywhere.

Emily finished the song and simply held the shorter human until she finished crying. When she calmed down and her grip loosened, Emily gently pulled away and met Marie's eyes.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going anywhere. You're safe. It was a nightmare. It wasn't real." Marie shuddered.

"I'm sorry," she said, but Emily put a finger to her lips and gently shushed her.

"No apologies," she said softly. "You were scared and asleep. You have nothing to be sorry about. Okay?" Marie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Emily smiled. "Do you want to tell me what you saw?" she asked. Marie shuddered again and Emily added, "You don't have to if you don't want to. It's entirely up to you."

Marie considered her options. Tell and have Emily worry about what might happen to herself, or don't and worry herself to death about what the ignorance might put Emily though. She made her decision and told Emily about her day and the nightmare that she'd had.

Emily took it all in without comment or letting go of Marie. When the fighter finished, the faunus hugged Marie close and whispered, "Everything's going to be fine tonight. Okay?"

Marie nodded and said, "Okay."

Emily helped the human stand and said, "The first thing you need is some sleep." Marie opened her mouth to protest but Emily cut her off. "This isn't negotiable. You need some rest. I'm going to be right next to you, okay. If you start having another nightmare, I'm going to be right here to help you."

Emily helped Marie to her bed and eased her into it. Then she stepped away for a moment and took a piece of paper off of her desk. She wrote something on the sheet and then placed a large bag in front of the door with the paper on top. If anyone entered the room, one of the first things they'd see would be the note. After that, Emily came back to Marie and climbed onto the bed as well.

She hauled the covers over them and said, "I'm right next to you. Nothing, real or imaginary, will come near you. Okay?"

"Okay," Marie replied softly and snuggled close to the faunus. Emily wrapped her arms around Marie and gently sang again, easing Marie into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in years.

Emily woke up to a beam of sunlight touching her face. The cat blinked rapidly and slowly sat up to get out of the beam of light. A body adjusted next to her and she looked down to see Marie sound asleep. The faunus smiled. As terrible as the human's experience had been, she was happy that she'd been there for Marie when she was needed.

It was clear that Marie hadn't told her _everything_. There was no way that her normal nightmares were connected to last night's incident, but that was a story for another time. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

She scooped up her scroll, which was resting on the bedside table and checked it. There was a message from Reginald waiting.

 _Had the sudden urge to crash with some friends last night,_ it read. _Andrew is with me. Call if you need anything…. Have fun. ;)_

Emily smiled. Reg was ever the jokester. She doubted he could resist the urge for the last comment on his message. But the true message had been clear. She closed her scroll. Marie stirred next to her.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"10 in the morning," Emily replied, her smile growing as she replied.

Marie shot upright exclaiming, "What?!" Emily laughed.

"Congratulations," she said. "You've officially slept in for the first time since I've met you." Marie flopped back onto the bed.

"I slept in?" she asked, awe in her voice. Emily nodded. "I didn't have any… No wait. I had the one." Emily nodded again, more slowly.

"You told me about your day yesterday," Emily said. "And how it might have inspired the nightmare you had."

"Yes," Marie said. "But I don't know why my nightmare was like that." Emily rested her hand on the human's shoulder.

"It's because we're your friends, Marie. And whatever happens to one of us, affects us all. That's how friendship works. If something were to happen to you, Andrew, Reg, and I would not stop until we were sure that you were safe." Marie met Emily's eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "For last night."

"It's what I'm here for," Emily said. There was a moment of silence before Marie spoke again.

"Speaking of the guys, where are they? It doesn't look like they came back last night."

"They did," Emily replied. "They decided to crash with some friends."

Marie noticed the backpack in front of the door with the note still resting on it. She walked over to it and picked up the note. She looked at Emily with a raised eyebrow.

" 'Comment or ask and you die?' " the human asked. Emily shrugged.

"It was only a suggestion."

"The word 'die' is underlined three times. And it's written in spiky letters."

"It was an emphasized suggestion. I didn't think you wanted more attention right then." The faunus' eyes flicked around and Marie took a moment to assess the room. Her eyes widened.

"What did I do?" she asked. Emily shrugged.

"You were having a nightmare, as you know. I tried to wake you verbally but you didn't seem to hear me. So I put my hand on you to shake you. Then you lashed out and knocked me across the room."

"Are you okay?"

Emily raised a placating hand. "I'm fine," she said. "My aura took a lot of the damage, and I was able to use my semblance to mitigate some as well."

Marie noticed that papers were scattered all over the room as she went to her desk and assessed the damage. It was a lost cause. At least the text books and her box had survived the impact with little damage. The maroonette picked up the box carefully, as if it might explode, and turned to her partner.

"Is it okay if I put this on you desk for a little? Just until I get a new one?"

"Sure," Emily agreed. "What's in it?" Marie couldn't meet Emily's eye.

"Just… old memories," she answered.

"And you keep them locked up?"

"They're not all good memories," Marie replied. She set the box at the back of Emily's desk, making sure to take up as little room as possible. "Thanks, for everything." Emily smiled.

"It's my pleasure," she said. She looked around and added, "We should probably get as much of this cleared up as we can. Then we can see about getting you a new desk." Marie nodded.


	31. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"So, let me get this straight," Emily said, steepling her fingers in front of her. "You want to go back to the crime scene from yesterday because you think that there's something there that the cops won't find?"

"Yes," Marie replied evenly.

"Despite the fact that they told you not to get involved until they called you?"

"Yes."

"Okay, ignoring the fact that you can _do_ that with the cops, what makes you so sure that you'll find something?"

The girls were sitting in a remote corner of the library, speaking in low voices so as not to disturb the few students who were working. They'd cleaned up the scattered papers in their dorm room and put in a request to get a replacement for Marie's destroyed desk. Emily had been as vague as possible in regards as to how the original desk had been destroyed. The excuse they had eventually gone with was 'extenuating circumstances' and prayers that not too many questions would be asked.

Marie lifted her arms in a hell-if-I-know gesture and said, "I don't know. It's just… I've been playing the scenario over and over in my head and I keep getting the feeling that we've missed something."

"Like what?" the faunus asked. Marie sighed.

"There's no such thing as a perfect crime. No matter how careful you are, there's always _something_. A hair, a print, some residue, or-" The maroonette suddenly stopped talking.

"Or what?" Emily asked.

"Residue…" Marie said, more to herself. Emily waved her hand in front of Marie.

"Um, lost here," the cat said. Marie blinked and looked at Emily. Then her eyes gleamed and she started laughing. A nearby student made a ssshhh sound and Marie visibly tried to reign in her laughter.

"Residue!" Marie told her partner.

"Okay, residue," Emily said. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Maybe everything," Marie said animatedly. "Look, Emily, something unnatural was going on in that alleyway. During that whole encounter I swear I felt something radiating. It made me think that there was a Grimm nearby. Like the odd feeling you get when one of them is watching you." Emily nodded slowly.

"Okay. So what are you thinking?"

"Something that has that big of a presence has to be letting off a lot of power, right? So what if there's still some of that energy left over?" Emily blinked.

"You think we might be able to track this person based on an invisible trail?" she asked.

"Yeah, and the police might not notice something like that because they don't train their auras like we do. We're more sensitive to things like this because we use our auras as shields. We might be able to use a semblance to do this too." Emily looked thoughtful.

"Maybe," she admitted. "There's really only one way to be sure. And it doesn't cost us anything to try. Let's call the guys and go." Marie looked sharply at Emily.

"Can we not involve the guys?" she asked. Emily looked to Marie.

"Why shouldn't we involve them?" Marie was silent for a moment, trying to find the words.

"I don't want to get them involved yet," she said slowly. "I have a bad feeling that if they get involved, something might happen. And I don't want to be noticed. Two people are harder to spot than four and Reginald doesn't exactly blend in."

Emily bit her lip, considering. Having the guys for backup would be comforting, but Marie had a point, Reginald wasn't really stealthy. She remembered what had happened during initiation. Reluctantly, the faunus nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Well, here it is," Marie said. "There's the flagpole that monkey faunus used on me."

"I expected there to be police here," Emily said.

"There's not much to keep an eye on," Marie said. "They couldn't find any physical evidence. At most they might have a patrol car nearby to keep an eye on the place."

"Aren't you worried we'll get in trouble?" Emily asked. Marie shook her head.

"Just about everyone in the VPD knows me. My showing up at a crime scene won't seem too odd. At most, they'll call the detective in charge and make sure it's okay. _Then_ we might get in a little trouble, but we should be long gone before that happens."

"You know, at some point we need to have a talk about how you can get away with this," Emily said. Marie sighed.

"One thing at a time, Emily. Case first, talk later. Okay?"

"Okay. Let's get to it," Emily said and the girls entered the alleyway and began to look around. "So, what are we supposed to be searching for?" Emily asked.

"Some kind of… energy I guess," Marie replied. "It shouldn't feel natural. You'll know the sensation, trust me."

The girls focused, trying to feel rather than see what they were looking for. After a moment, their auras shimmered into light, one grey, the other viridian. The girls began to move through the alleyway, their eyes half closed. After a moment, Marie let out a puff of air.

"Nothing," she said, her voice sounding bitter. "Not a thing. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm just going crazy." Emily suddenly stiffened and she stopped moving. "What?" Marie asked.

The faunus didn't answer. Instead, she lifted a hand and pale, nearly invisible, viridian light flowed from the appendage. Marie felt a gentle breeze brush past her as the light passed.

"It's this way," Emily said and started walking. Marie shrugged and followed her partner. Emily led them out of the alleyway. Marie kept pace and kept an eye behind them, making sure they weren't followed.

After a while, their destination became clear.

"The warehouse district," Marie said. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Probably because Reg goes on and on about _X-ray and Vav_ ," Emily said. Pale viridian light swirled around the faunus and Marie felt another gentle breeze pass by her. Emily pointed. "It's this way," she said and started walking again. The hairs on the back of Marie's neck raised and the human quickly spun around, checking behind them. Emily paused, looking at her partner. "What is it?"

"It may be nothing," Marie replied. "But I have this feeling that we're being watched." One of Emily's hands drifted down near her waist as she nodded.

The two girls continued, their senses on alert for people following them, until Emily led them to a large warehouse.

"This is it," the cat said. By now, Marie could feel the presence as well. The same cold and dark sensation she had felt the day before. Emily looked to Marie. "What should we do?" Marie's brow furrowed in thought.

"I want to see what's in here," she said. "I want to make sure that the boys at the VPD have something solid to work with before moving if nothing else." Emily glanced at the warehouse again.

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously. "Because I really don't like the sensation I'm getting from this place. It's…" she shuddered, "Evil."

"You don't have to go in with me," Marie said.

"Are you going in there?" Emily asked.

"Yes."

"Then I am too. You're my teammate, my partner. I won't let you go in there alone."

Marie nodded. There wouldn't be any point in arguing with her. She looked around at the warehouse, trying to spot an additional entrance.

"Can you see a different entrance?" Marie asked. "I don't feel like using the front door." Emily glanced around and pointed.

"Window," she said. "Looks like it might be slightly open. I can get us up there." The faunus raised her arm and there was a quick rush of air and the window opened. Emily turned her attention to Marie and repeated the motion with both arms.

Marie felt wind circle under her and suddenly rush upward, launching her into the air and to the now open window. The marital artist grabbed the edge of the window and quickly hauled herself into the warehouse. A moment later, Emily sailed through the window and landed unsteadily next to her partner. Marie gave her a look.

"Just what in the name of Dust can you _do_?" she asked in a whisper. The Faunus shrugged.

"We can talk about this later," she replied. "Right now, let's just look around and get out of this place. It doesn't feel right." Marie nodded and the girls began to look around.

The girls were located on a catwalk that ran along the perimeter of the entire warehouse. There were a couple of stair ways that led to the ground level. The warehouse also didn't have much in the way of light. There were some strips of lights on the ceiling that would provide plenty of illumination, but they were currently switched off. Some light came through the windows located in the upper section of the building, but they appeared to have been treated in a way that kept out most of the light. The one exception being the window that the girls had opened to gain access to the building. Thanks to that source of light, Marie was able to see some of the contents of the building.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked the Faunus.

"Hordes of large wooden shipping crates spread all over the place?" Emily countered. Marie smiled.

"I forgot. You have near perfect night vision," the human said. "Is it really all over the place?" Emily nodded.

"There's a large cleared out space in the center of the building. It kinda reminds me of the combat arena at Beacon, honestly." Marie frowned. That bothered her for some reason.

"Let's get a look in some of the crates," she said. "Hopefully we can find something we can hand over to the VPD."

Marie jumped over the railing and landed on top of one of the containers. She ran her hands around the top of the container until she encountered a lock. The maroonette activated one of her bracers, and the blade slid out, slicing through the lock. She withdrew the blade and opened the container.

In the dim light, Marie could make out the outline of guns piled haphazardly together. She repeated the system on another crate and found a collection of packaged syringe needles. Unlike the box of guns, these were lined up neatly together, which didn't make any sense. Why would someone organize a bunch of packaged needles but not a crate of guns?

Something slammed above her and the sunlight that had been streaming through the open window suddenly disappeared. There was an 'oof' and something slammed into Marie and sent her tumbling off of the stacked crates and into the cleared space in the center of the building.

"Ow," someone said next to Marie. With a start, she realized that it was Emily. Evidently, someone had launched the faunus into her so that they would both be in the cleared area.

"You okay?" Marie whispered to the Faunus.

"Yeah," came the reply. "You?"

"Nothing serious as far as I can tell," Marie said as she got to her feet. Emily rose a moment later.

"I think it's safe to say that stealth is out," the cat said just as the lights above them turned on.

Emily and Marie immediately moved so that their backs were to each other. Emily uncoiled the jiujiebian from her waist as Marie engaged the blades in her bracers.

The catwalk that lined the building was no longer deserted. Now, where there had been empty space, stood hooded and masked figures placed at regular intervals along the walkway.

"What do you think?" Marie asked in a low voice. "White Fang?" Emily shook her head.

"None of them are in uniform," the Faunus replied. "Look, they're all wearing Grimm masks, but they aren't all the same. The only other consistency is the fact that they have hoods. Otherwise they're just… people."

"And they're not all Faunus either," Marie added. "At least, not obviously Faunus." This was true. Amongst those Emily could see, there were several Faunus, with obvious appendages like ears or tails. There was even one with a duck's bill. There were several, however, that appeared to be humans.

"Some of us are more subtle than others," Emily allowed. "But I don't think these are all Faunus. They wouldn't have turned on the lights if that were the case."

The strangers simply stood like statues, as if waiting for some kind of signal. The girls moved their eyes back and forth, looking for an avenue to escape.

"What are they waiting for?" Emily asked.

"I'm getting the feeling," Marie replied, "that they're waiting to see if we're good prey. If we show weakness or hesitation they might attack." Emily immediately had to suppress the urge to stand perfectly still. It was hard. She was scared out of her mind.

The Faunus let out a breath and tried to project an air of confidence. As if she was in complete control of the situation. Several of the waiting individuals seemed to lock onto her, which made Emily doubt her success.

A voice suddenly echoed through the room and Emily nearly leapt out of her skin.

"I must say," it said. "I'm rather impressed." Emily felt Marie shudder behind her.

"That's the guy?" she asked.

"Yeah," Marie replied.

"I didn't honestly expect you to think of using aura to track us down," the voice continued. "I don't think someone has come to that conclusion in a long time indeed. We keep the trail set up in case someone actually does think of it, it's a sort of… tradition among us, but no one ever thinks of it these days. The advancement of science has… diminished an appreciation for what an aura can truly do."

"Who are you?" Marie barked out, trying to sound tough. The voice laughed. The laugh was slow, low, cold, and empty.

"You don't honestly expect me to tell you, do you? You're smarter than that. I'm also impressed that you didn't come in through the front door. We were expecting that and had the door unlocked. It was a clumsy mistake, leaving that window ajar, but now I think we'll keep it as part of the test."

"What test?" Emily asked.

"Think of it as a qualification exam," the voice explained amiably. "Much like the ones the huntsmen and huntress academies use to see if their applicants are ready."

"Qualification?" Emily asked. "Qualification for what?"

"Ascension. To join the ranks of those who have evolved."

"You're not making any sense," Emily countered.

"I'm making complete sense," the voice said. "You just don't understand yet."

"Then explain it in a way that I will understand," Emily replied. The voice chuckled.

"I could do that," it said, "but words have a tendency to be inadequate."

"I'll survive," Emily said, sounding more confident than she felt.

"I think you've stalled for your partner long enough," the voice said. "I should advise the two of you that your scrolls will not work inside this building. Only messages sent on a specific frequency can enter or leave this building and devices have to be modified in order to use it. You won't be able to call for help." Marie muttered a curse.

"That was good thinking," Emily whispered to Marie. "Wish I'd thought to try and call."

"We've been doing this for a long time," the voice replied.

"Great, they can hear us even if we lower our voices," Marie said. There was a pause, and Emily tried to take stock of the situation.

They were trapped in a warehouse surrounded by a group of people, who very well might be trained huntsmen and huntresses for all she knew, with no way to call for help and a low probability of escape. The situation couldn't really be much worse. Emily fought down her fear. She needed to think of a way out of this mess.

"Why are you afraid?" the voice asked. Marie laughed.

"Are you seriously asking that question?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," the voice replied evenly.

"Uh, let's see," the human said. "We're locked in a warehouse with crates full of guns and likely drugs, surrounded by hooded and masked guards, talking to someone with a cold and emotionless voice who _killed_ someone and is talking about people _evolving_. But why should we be scared?" The sarcasm was hard to miss and, given better circumstances, Emily might have even laughed.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to press in on Emily's ears. One the cat ears on her head twitched.

"Would you like to be free?" the voice asked. Both girls blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean by free?" Emily asked.

"Would you like to be free of insecurity?" the voice inquired. "Would you like to be free of discrimination, bias, prejudice, hate, and fear?" Both girls were silent, largely in shock. This wasn't what either of them had been expecting.

"What are you saying?" Emily finally asked.

"Emily Virden," the voice said. "You have spent your entire life being discriminated and judged simply because you are a Faunus. You have an overwhelming amount of talent. You've been turned down 52 times for various dancing roles during your life. No matter what school or role you tried to get into, you were always turned aside for someone else. For humans who clearly didn't have your level of skill in dance. You've also submitted your artwork for sale and display and it has been rejected every single time while the work of others, humans, has been accepted without pause. I've seen your work, both in dance and in art. They're beautiful. You ask yourself day after day why them and not you?"

"How… How do you know that?" Emily asked, fear clear in her voice.

"And Marie Bordeaux," the voice continued. "Your whole life has been stuck in between a cross fire. What happened to your parents was terrible. All of that time spent protecting the rights of Faunus only to be-"

"Shut up," Marie said, her voice hard.

"And you unjustly blame yourself. Caught in night terrors that you can't stop because you trap yourself in a circle of blame."

"I. Said. Shut. Up!" Marie shouted, clipping each word as she spoke.

"I'm offering you a way out of it," the voice said. "You can come with us. You can evolve and transcend fear, and join a family that doesn't care about race, sex, gender, or history. A family of equals who could appreciate what you can do without prejudice because you'll be just like them. You'd also be safe. There's a storm coming and we can provide you with protection that no one else can. All you have to do is come with us. Even your teammates would be welcome with us." The voice fell silent, waiting for a response.

The girls looked at each other. Emily felt tempted to accept. To be recognized, appreciated, equal. It was everything she'd ever wanted. All of those rejections, cheaply covered up with excuses. She'd used those experiences to learn humility and to help motivate her to keep trying. They were the reason she had decided to become a huntress. So that she could be an example.

But what was the cost? She would have to _evolve_. What did that even mean? Would she change? Stop being who she was so that she could be free and safe? Or was it nothing serious at all? Maybe she was being overly cautious.

Emily looked at all the people lined on the catwalk above them. Had they made this choice too? Had they changed? She took a deep breath and made her choice.

"Sorry, no," she said, in a completely calm tone of voice. She felt Marie square her shoulders behind her.

"I'll pass," Marie answered. "I don't trust your _evolution_. The man you murdered in that alleyway didn't seem too thrilled with it. I doubt I'd enjoy it either." Both girls adjusted their stances, preparing for whatever might come next. The voice sighed.

"I'd hoped you would be reasonable. You both seemed so intelligent. I apologize for what has to come next. I take no joy in it, but it has to be done." Then every one of the people standing guard drew weapons and launched themselves over the railing towards the girls.


	32. Chapter 27

**Salutations all. Guess who's back. I apologize for the long delay, -sigh- again. I've been finding it very hard to write and edit and keep getting caught up in other stuff. I'm going to try and get back into the swing of things, which should hopefully be easier with RWBY volume 5 just about literally around the corner. Now, for this chapter I'm experimenting with point of view shifts during combat to better demonstrate what going on with every combatant. I don't think this is something I'm going to be doing much of (since it feels kinda choppy to me) but I guess I'll see what you all think.**

 **Chapter 27**

There were a dozen fighters, all sporting a variety of weapons. Marie spotted several people with firearms, all up high and lining up shots. Standing in the center of the warehouse as they were, neither of the girls would last long.

"Spring trap," Marie said, withdrawing her blades and flipping back into a handstand. Emily moved at the same time, hopping up onto the human girl's feet and using them as a platform to stand on. Marie used her semblance, pouring power into both her arms and legs. It wasn't as much as usual, but, then again, it didn't need to be. Marie pushed off of the ground and launched her partner into the air. She flipped forward and drew out the blades again in order to block the claymore that was swinging her way.

The person wielding the sword was strong, really strong. Marie brought the power she had sent to her legs up towards her arms and pressed back on her opponent. The swordsman was forced off balance by the sudden surge of strength to Marie's arms. Metal scraped as the huntress in training pressed and forced the weapon away from her. The masked opponent let out a low grunt as his sword arm was forced away from the front of his body. Marie slammed her hand into the warrior's sternum and sent him off his feet.

The maroonette didn't pay him any more mind as she rotated and blocked attacks from both sides from a pair of fighters with hatchets. These fighters were surprisingly strong as well and she grunted with the effort of holding each attack back with one arm.

"What do you people do?" she asked. "Eat steroids and work in a gym all day?" She dropped her arms and took a step back. The hatchet wielders, suddenly deprived of resistance, stumbled forward into each other.

The maroonette half-turned and drove a foot into the gut of a masked Faunus with a duck's bill for a mouth.

The duck caught her leg and spun, throwing the human through the air and into one of the heavy wooden crates. The wood broke and Marie found herself under a pile of guns.

* * *

Emily hadn't been idle. As she was launched into the air by her partner, she spun and triggered her own semblance.

Wind surged from the Faunus and spun with her body. The bullets that had been fired by the fighters still up high were knocked off course by the sudden gust and missed both her and her partner. Emily landed on top of one of the crates and whipped Wind's Edge through the air. The jiujiebian's segments wrapped around a machine gun one of the shooters carried.

Emily yanked hard and managed to force the weapon out of the shooter's hands. The firearm tumbled through the air and clubbed one of the fighters on the ground in the head. The fighter dropped his twin daggers and slumped to the ground. The wielder of the gun hadn't faired much better. Emily's yank put the shooter off balance and he fell heavily off the crate he was standing on and hard onto the ground.

A bullet whizzed past Emily's ear and she turned and saw another shooter wielding a pair of pistols. The cat ducked another pair of shots and hopped up higher on the stack of crates and threw her arm forward. A blast of wind flew from the Faunus' outstretched fingers and slammed into the gut of the new shooter. One of her weapons flew out of her hand and Emily leapt to catch the gun with her left hand.

She succeeded and jumped again, this time clearing the railing to the upper catwalk. The jiujiebian's segments retracted into the weapon's hilt and she struck the shooter's other gun with the newly made dagger, knocking it from the woman's hand. The Faunus struck the weaponless shooter with the butt of the pistol she had grabbed and she dropped.

The sound of gun shots drew her attention and she saw Marie half buried in a pile of guns firing one of them in an effort to keep her attackers back. Emily dropped the pistol she was carrying and leapt over the railing to aid her partner.

* * *

Marie sat up amongst the pile of firearms and noticed that three other ground fighters, as well as the duck Faunus that had thrown her, were closing in. Marie snatched up a nearby pistol, flipped the safety, and half prayed that whoever had filled the crate had been dumb enough to load the guns it contained. Rather disturbingly, they had because the gun roared and bullets left the weapon.

Her attackers moved to avoid the rounds but still advanced on her, weapons drawn. The duck Faunus that had thrown her leveled a shotgun at her and prepared to fire.

Emily suddenly slammed into his back and his arm swerved, the gun discharging towards one of his sword wielding flunkies. The recipient of the blast stumbled back and tripped over one of the stunned hatchet wielders and fell on top of the claymore user, who had been trying to get back onto his feet.

The duck faunus swung around and tried to shoot Emily at point blank range. Marie surged out of the pile of guns, slammed him hard in the side and driving him into one of the metal supports for the upper catwalk.

Something slapped hard at Marie and she was launched through the air. She landed heavily in the cleared area of the warehouse.

One of the sword fighters turned to her and lifted his weapon to strike. Marie heaved her leg and knocked the swordsman's leg out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Marie, used to taking falls, quickly got back onto her feet.

She glanced up and noticed a pair of figures on the upper catwalk with submachine guns taking aim at Emily. Grey light surrounded the martial artist's arms as she quickly picked up the claymore on the ground and hurled it at the shooters. She was lucky, the badly spinning blade knocked the gun from one of the shooter's hands and forced the other to drop to the ground, lest he was beheaded.

The distraction gave Marie the time she needed to kick one of the sprawled fighters next to her into unconsciousness and use her semblance to direct power to her legs. She leapt impossibly through the air and over the railing to the catwalk.

The glow faded from her legs as the shooters gaped at her for a moment in complete surprise. Marie smiled at them and charged.

* * *

As Marie was launched through the air past her, Emily attacked the duck Faunus that had tried to kill her. She swung her arm and Wind's Edge's segmented blades flew from the weapon's hilt.

The duck's shadow suddenly writhed and wrapped around the jiujiebian's segments. Emily gasped as the shadow yanked on the weapon, forcing the girl off balance and to stumble forward.

The duck's shotgun shifted into a glaive and he swung the weapon into Emily. The strike knocked her off her feet and careening into the last sword fighter. Both of them hit the ground, the swordsman's head hit the ground heavily and drove consciousness from his body. Emily, cushioned by her opponent's now unconscious form, faired far better.

Something wrapped around the dancer's ankle and she was flung through the air again and into one of the heavy wooden crates with enough force to shatter the crate. Emily heard glass shatter as well and was suddenly surrounded by a heavy black vapor.

* * *

Marie had just made sure that the last shooter was unconscious when she heard the crate shatter. She looked down and saw Emily in the remains of a shattered crate and surrounded by a black vapor. The duck Faunus was facing her, now carrying a polearm and his shadow, his actual shadow, writhed around him as if it was alive.

"No!" she shouted and hurled herself over the railing again, rage flowing through her body.

She landed and the blades slid out of her bracers, but the duck Faunus had sheathed his weapon and was backing away slowly. He turned around and bolted for the door of the warehouse.

Marie could've stopped him, but decided to help her partner instead. Emily was more important than one guy. She'd give his description to Oliver and the VPD would hunt him down.

The vapor that had been surrounding Emily was rapidly disappearing. The maroonette grabbed one of Emily's legs and pulled her from the remains of the vapor, not wanting to accidentally get exposed to it herself. Then she knelt down beside her fallen teammate.

"Emily?" she asked, concern slipping into her voice. "Come on, Emily. Say something." For a horrifying second, Emily didn't move. Then for a few more seconds. Marie's heart climbed up into her throat and she tried to wake her partner. Then Emily stirred. Marie let out a breath in relief and said, "Emily! Are you okay?"

The faunus mumbled and then was _completely_ still. Marie could tell her partner was awake, but the faunus didn't so much as move an eyelash. It wasn't the stillness of sleep or of surprise. It was the kind of stillness that house cats used just before they leapt on unsuspecting mice. Marie's mind flashed back to the duck faunus' flight. What if the retreat hadn't simply been to avoid capture? What if it had been to avoid something else?

"I can feel your fear," Emily said very quietly and very clearly and Marie went still. Every single fiber of her being went on red alert. Emily didn't sound like herself. She sounded… eerily calm, almost alluring, and predatory. What had been in that crate?

"Of course I'm scared," Marie replied, trying her best to keep her voice even. The fighter's instincts were screaming at her to run like hell, or to at least not show her fear. "I was worried you'd been injured, maybe killed." Emily gave her a rather creepy smile.

"You lie," the cat said in a sing song voice. "You're not scared for me. At least not completely. No, you're scared _of_ me." Marie forced down her growing terror and tried to find something rational to lock onto.

"The crate," she said. "It must've been filled with some kind of drug. You're high on something, maybe even concussed." When she said it quickly like that, she almost believed it herself. "We need to get you out of here." Emily shook her head.

"No," she said, still in that creepily alluring voice. "I'm not high. If anything, I'm…" she paused, searching for the right word. "Hungry. No, that isn't it. It's more like lust. For destruction. For pain. For… finality." She drew out the end of the word in a thoughtful manner. "I want… blood."

The faunus' eyes locked onto Marie's orbs. The blonde's eyes had changed during the discussion. Emily's eyes were normally light blue, always reminding Marie of the sky on a clear, warm day. Emily's eyes had always had a light in them. Equal parts happiness, determination, and pride. Marie had always taken a small amount of comfort from Emily's eyes. But those spheres had suddenly changed and Marie couldn't figure out when, how, or why they had.

The dancer's eyes had changed from light blue and comforting to a glowing, hateful scarlet. Marie had seen eyes like those before. Every huntress and huntsman had seen eyes like them before. They were the eyes of the darkness, of destruction, of chaos, of death. They were they eyes of Grimm.

Emily smiled and if the faunus had suddenly sprouted razor sharp fangs, Marie would not have been as surprised, or as terrified, as she was of those eyes.

Marie reacted without thinking and out of sheer, blind terror. She stood, turned, and ran for the exit to the warehouse, wanting nothing more than to be as far away as she could from her partner.


	33. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Marie could only describe what happened next as magic. There was no other way to explain just how _fast_ Emily moved. One moment, Marie was booking it toward the warehouse's exit. The next, her path was blocked by her faunus partner, who was wearing a grin that could _only_ be described as feral.

"What's wrong, Marie?" Emily asked calmly. "There's no rush to leave yet. Why don't you stick around for a bit?"

Marie skidded to a halt and began to back away from Emily. Terror was clearly on her face and there wasn't any point in trying to hide it. Emily had somehow been able to know her buried emotions without any effort.

Marie's legs bumped into one of the crates scattered throughout the warehouse and the maroonette fought not to fall over. She had the overwhelming feeling that if she fell over, she wouldn't live to get back up again. There was nowhere for her to run. If she tried to head for one of the windows at the upper catwalk, Emily would likely repeat what she had done to get in front of her a moment ago. She couldn't use her scroll to call for help, either. The people in the masks and hoods had made that impossible. She was out of options.

Fear finally disappeared, giving way for incandescent rage. Here she was, a huntress in training, being forced into a corner by her own partner who seemed to have gone insane because of some material that had been stored in this accursed place by a group of probable sociopaths.

She wasn't helpless for Dust's sake! She had years of training and enough will to not go down without a fight.

The problem was that, no matter how insane she was acting, Emily was still her partner. She had to be sure not to hurt her. Emily couldn't have much of her aura left to defend herself. Neither did Marie, for that matter. Serious damage was a concern now. If she wasn't careful, one or both of them could be seriously hurt. Maybe even killed.

Marie adjusted her stance and the short blades slid out of her bracers. Emily's feral grin grew.

"Oh," she said mockingly. "She's ready to fight back. Good. Prey is more enjoyable that way." The faunus brought her weapon to bear. Marie caught the slight tremor in the blonde's arms.

The fighter had a sudden intuition. If what was making Emily so crazy actually was a form of drug, then what were the side effects? And did the substance's effects last long? Marie might not even have to beat Emily. She would just need to keep her busy until whatever was in her system wore off or wore her down.

Or maybe the faunus was simply shaking with excitement about the coming fight. Or maybe whatever was in her system would quickly kill her. There were too many variables. This fight needed to end as quickly as possible, before one or both of them ended up dead.

Marie kicked on her semblance, throwing power into her legs and making the limbs glow grey with the light of her aura. Marie caught the subtle movement in Emily's stance, the faunus anticipating the speed Marie preferred to pass into her legs. That was because Emily actually knew how the semblance worked.

Many people assumed that Marie simply had the power to enhance certain physical characteristics and, for the most part, they were correct. But what most people didn't seem to realize is that in order for energy to be placed in one place, it has to come from somewhere.

A semblance was an incredible ability to have unlocked, but a semblance still wasn't magic. They were, in their own way, still bound to rules. It was why Weiss Schnee would grow tired after using her glyphs rapidly. It was why Ruby Rose didn't simply use her super speed to get around everywhere. The energy had to come from somewhere, and that somewhere was from inside. Not only that, but some semblances had bigger stings in the tail than others. Like Marie's.

Marie could pump power into her legs or arms or even, theoretically, her brain and the power would allow the area it was directed toward to work more effectively in a variety of ways. But the energy had to come from somewhere, and in Marie's case, it came from other parts of her body. If she pumped power to her legs to increase their effectiveness, it meant that some other part of her body had to lose that power and become less effective. If she wasn't careful, Marie could easily kill herself by taking energy from the wrong places to boost the one she needed. She could, theoretically, obliterate a massive section of the CCT with just a single punch or kick like superheroes were supposed to on a regular basis. It would simply involve delegating the energy that helped keep her heart beating, her lungs working, and her brain functioning, along with the energy that ran through the rest of her body.

Then she'd just be an empty shell. No beating heart. No breathing lungs. No working brain. No soul. She'd just be gone.

The power that Marie was adjusting wasn't anywhere near to that extreme, though. It was a simple relegation of strength in her arms to strength in her legs. So she'd be faster and a more powerful kicker, but a less effective puncher. That was just fine for the moment, since the plan at the moment was to evade and escape, not fight.

Marie waited until Emily was halfway through adjusting her stance to launch an attack, and then she bent her legs and leapt straight upwards, about 10 feet in the air. Emily's thrust of her rapier dagger missed, the faunus unprepared for the jump of her prey.

The cat looked up, but Marie was already falling back down, right toward where Emily was currently standing. The faunus slashed her hand through the air in retaliation. Wind slammed into Marie's side and sent her tumbling through the air and into one of the crates scattered and stacked through the warehouse.

Marie struck the crate with enough force to shatter it and sent guns flying away from her body. The maroonette lay there, stunned for a moment. Furniture and crates don't normally shatter when a person hits them. That only works in the movies. It's the person who hits the furniture that breaks. Marie felt her aura strain and nearly shatter as it absorbed the impact.

Her head rang from the landing and she tried to remember what it was she needed to be doing. She was supposed to be avoiding something, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

The sound of electricity crackling snapped her focus back into her mind and the huntress in training rolled to the side, over the debris of the crate and scattered weapons. A bolt of lightning struck exactly where she had been laying only seconds earlier.

The bolt of energy stuck one of the scattered rifles and the weapon exploded with the sheer energy that the lightning bolt contained. Bits of metal, wood, and concrete peppered Marie's aura and the small pieces of debris alongside the concussive wave from the strike shattered the fighter's defense. Marie felt her aura starting to wear out and realized that playing defensively would only get her killed at this rate.

She managed to get to her feet as crackling yellow energy formed around Emily's weapon. The Faunus was preparing another bolt of lightning. If evading wasn't going to be enough, that meant that Marie was going to have to attack her partner in order to stay alive. It was either that, or die. As much as Marie liked Emily, dying wasn't really preferable.

Marie retracted her blades and activated her semblance once again, feeling the weariness start to set in from using it so much. Her management of her body's energies wasn't perfect and some of the directed energy would slip away from her. It was something she was working on.

Marie directed the energy towards her legs again and then did something incredibly stupid. She charged straight toward her partner at high speed.

Emily acted out of reflex and loosed the bolt of lightning at Marie. The human, however, was ready for the attack this time. She adjusted her body fractionally enough to dodge the bolt of lightning by a hair. She felt the energy buzzing near her skin and tried not to think about what it would've done if it had actually hit her.

Marie swung her arm at her partner as she zipped past. Emily didn't have time to react further to the unexpected charge and took the punch straight to her cheek. The Faunus spun as Marie kept moving. It didn't matter that Marie's punches were weaker at the moment because she was compensating with the speed that her body was moving at. And anyway, the point wasn't to kill Emily. It was to temporarily stun her.

The fighter skidded to a stop and rotated to face her partner once again. She rotated just in time to see Wind's Edge whipping through the air towards her head. Marie lifted her arm and managed to block the attack with her bracer. The chain whip wrapped around the limb and Emily pulled, trying to force Marie off balance.

Marie obliged her teammate and charged forward again, putting more energy into her legs in order to move even faster. Her exhaustion grew and she knew that she couldn't keep this up for too much longer.

The fighter barreled past Emily and the jiujiebian quickly snapped taut. Marie didn't stop moving and knew Emily didn't have the strength to keep hold of her weapon. So she was utterly surprised when she was suddenly yanked backwards and off her feet.

Her back hit the ground with a heavy thud and there was a bright flash of pain as her head struck the concrete floor. Marie panted heavily as she lay there on the ground, listening to the sound of footsteps approaching.

Emily made a tsking sound as she entered Marie's field of view.

"Fool me once, shame on you," she said almost cheerfully. "Fool me twice, shame on me. I'd rather not be made a fool of, Marie." The faunus retracted the segments of Wind's Edge's whip back into the hilt of the weapon, then began to twirl the newly remade dagger around in her fingers. "And as much as I like prey that gives me a good game, I find myself growing tired. That strike you gave me did knock out my aura though."

The faunus turned her head to show a bruise that was already forming on her cheek.

"Sorry I'm boring you," Marie replied. "Let me make it up to you." Then she bent her legs and drove them into Emily's stomach. The enhanced power of the human's strike launched Emily through the air and into one of the metal supports that held up the upper catwalk.

The air left the faunus' lungs with an audible sound and she slumped, falling heavily to the ground. Marie got to her feet and caught her breath. That strike had taken a lot out of her and her aura was currently shot.

Emily didn't move and Marie cautiously made her way to her fallen partner. When Emily didn't stir, she bent down and gave the faunus a once over.

Emily was still breathing, thank Dust, and it didn't look like she had sustained too much damage. All of the dust and dirt around the fallen blonde had mysteriously been pushed away. Whatever the girl had done had helped mitigate the damage she had received, but not enough to keep her conscious.

The maroonette let out a breath and picked up Emily in a fireman's carry. Then she made her way to the warehouse's exit. She didn't want to be here any longer than she had to. Once they left, she'd probably be able to use their scrolls again. She could call Oliver and the place would be swarming with cops.

She heaved the warehouse door open and jerked to a stop when several gun barrels were leveled at her head. Marie sighed.

"Can't I get a break already?"


	34. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Marie sat in the hospital waiting area, tapping the tips of her fingers together as she waited for news. She wasn't alone, either.

"I seem to remember telling you to wait a couple of days while we took a look at things," Detective Oliver King said from his seat next to the fighter.

"And I seem to remember a lesson from this annoying police detective," Marie countered. "I think it went along the lines of 'trust your instincts'. I'm pretty sure you can deduce what came next."

"You could've called." Marie rolled her eyes.

"Sure," she said, "I could've called. Then we'd have had either an army of cops storming the place, or spent Dust knows how long sitting there on a stakeout that they probably would've seen coming."

"You don't know that," Oliver replied evenly.

"Yes, I do," Marie countered hotly. "I told you. They were _waiting_ for us. They had a group of people sitting there, just on the _off-chance_ someone decided to turn up. And they… they _knew_ us, Oliver. They _knew_ about Mom and Dad." Marie's voice grew hoarse. "They knew about the nightmares. I don't know how they knew, but they did." She didn't cry, but her body grew tense and she locked her hands together.

The detective wrapped an arm around her and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Alright, Marie," he said gently. "I got it." Marie let out a breath, regaining her composure. "It's a good thing I know you too," he continued. "I had someone keeping an eye out for you, in case you did something stupid like: Ignoring the advice of annoying police detectives because you got a hunch. Dan called when you two broke into that warehouse. Took us a bit to find you." Marie nodded. "We found a signal jammer in there along with those crates of weapons. Those guys you two beat up are gonna have a lot to answer for." Marie nodded again.

"Something happened to Emily in there," the maroonette said. "She… she changed, Oliver. She wasn't herself." The detective nodded.

"You mentioned bottles after we realized that it was you leaving that warehouse. Just before we left, I told the guys not to open any they might find until we could take some precautions. You think they're what did it?" Marie nodded.

"They're some kind of drug, but it's not like anything I've ever heard of. It was like a gas, and her eyes changed color. I've never seen them do that before. I didn't like the change. It was… evil." Oliver gave Marie a light slap on the shoulder.

"All right kid. You're starting to babble. Take a deep breath and relax while I go and bother some doc about your friend."

The green haired detective rose and walked down a hall in search of one of the doctors. Marie sat there and tried to organize her thoughts. Everything sort of blurred after she'd run into a near army of cops just outside the warehouse where they had been attacked.

Who _were_ those guys? They'd known too much to be just an average group of thugs. And they were too organized and careful as well. A conspiracy, then? Some kind of secret society of super people? Marie shook her head. That couldn't be right. Those thoughts belonged in those Spruce Willis action movies that Jaune Arc and Reg enjoyed so much. On the other hand, what the voice had said about being somewhere that isn't biased sounded rather cultish.

The hairs on the back of Marie's neck stood on end. The fighter casually looked around, trying to spot anything unusual out of the corners of her eyes.

Someone was leaning against a wall down one of the nearby hallways. The figure wore dark clothing and a hood obscured their features. Judging by the contours of the figure, Marie guessed that it was a woman.

Marie looked at them straight where their eyes would be and stood up. The woman quickly moved down the hall and rounded a corner. Marie followed as fast as she could, dodging around doctors and hospital personnel. She rounded the same corner and stopped, trying to find where the woman had gone.

There wasn't a trace of her anywhere.

"Marie!" someone called. She turned and saw Andrew and Reginald heading towards her. She didn't smile, but there was a warmth in her chest as her eyes fell on her teammates. As they met up, Andrew spoke.

"Some detective gave us a call. He said that you and Emily were here and that we should probably head on over. What on Remnant happened?" Marie sighed and caught sight of Oliver rounding the corner and heading their way.

"I'll explain later," she said as the detective arrived.

"The docs say that your friend is all right," he said. "I'll take you there now." He gestured and the four of them made their way through the hospital. "By the way," he added to Marie, "I had them run her for toxins. The tests came back negative. There's nothing in her system."

"Why would you run a tox screen on Emily?" Andrew asked. An edge had come into his voice. Oliver sighed.

"Let's just say that she wasn't acting very… rational the last couple times she's been awake. She's under observation and light restraint." Andrew drew in a breath to reply, but the detective cut him off. "And before you say anything, you should know that she tried to hurt one of the techs the first time she woke up, and she managed to smash another one into a wall after she was put under restraint. The docs said that, given the amount of trauma she'd apparently been through before she got here, that she was in danger of hurting herself as well as anybody else. It was a safety call, not a punishment. They've been as gentle with her as possible."

Andrew held back his response, but Marie could feel his frustration nearly radiating off of him.

After a moment more of walking they came to a room with a pair of cops standing outside the door. Oliver waved a hand to the door and said, "I'll be out here. I've got some questions for her when you're done."

Andrew, Reginald, and Marie all entered the room and looked to their friend. The cat was laying on the hospital bed, asleep. Some machine was beeping and keeping track of her vitals. Marie grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it up next to the bed before settling down into it. Andrew leaned against the wall while Reginald sat down in another chair.

None of the three had made much noise, but Emily seemed to respond to something and began to stir. Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes. Marie was relieved to see that they were back to their light blue hue. Those eyes drifted towards Marie and locked onto her storm grey orbs.

"I had a dream," she said in a low voice. "I had a dream about a dance. There were people there, but they didn't like me. They didn't like my ears. They were monsters." Marie took hold of Emily's hand.

"It was just a dream, Emily," she said. "It wasn't real."

"It felt real," Emily replied. "They wanted to hurt me. Just because I was different." Marie voiced a comment that she learned from Oliver and Emily smiled. The Faunus was already looking more awake and aware. "You're cute when you're protective. Did you know that?"

Marie blushed slightly. Then she felt embarrassed for blushing and blushed even more.

"Hey, look," Reginald said to Andrew. "She's turning the same color as her hair." Marie glared daggers at the ram.

"I can kill you," she said. "And I don't think a single one of the cops out there would give a damn if I did." Reginald chuckled.

"But you can't kill the facts. Or run from them." The ram suddenly looked thoughtful. "Honestly, you can't run from a lot of things." He began counting his fingers as he continued. "Justice, problems, your past. This is metaphorical, of course." Andrew leaned over and gave Reginald a solid whack on the back of the head.

"Can you ever stop quoting those ridiculous comic books?" he asked.

"Shut the hell up, Orf," Reg said with a grin. He ducked as Andrew swung at him again. Emily burst out laughing and Marie face palmed.

"Thanks," the human said around her hand. "Now I've got the image of Andrew as a floating, metal ball of joy burned into my brain." Emily laughed even harder and Reginald joined in. Andrew rolled his eyes, but his mouth twitched in the ghost of a smile before he looked back to the door they had entered through.

Through the window in the door, Andrew caught sight of Professor Ozpin talking to the detective that had shown them in. His brow furrowed in thought as he turned back to his teammates. The gaiety had died down and everyone had fallen into silence.

"Marie," Emily said gently. "Could you tell me why I'm in the hospital? And why I'm under restraint?" Marie slowly drew her hand away from the Faunus and looked uncomfortable.

"What… do you remember?" she asked carefully. Emily thought for a moment.

"I remember fighting that duck Faunus," she said. "Then he smashed me into that crate and then there's just a hole. Next thing I remember is waking up here with you guys."

Marie didn't speak. She felt everyone's eyes lock onto her and she grew more uncomfortable.

"You…" she said and trailed off, trying to find the right words. "You changed," she eventually said. "For a little while you weren't yourself. You didn't act rationally." Marie shuddered with the memories. "You attacked me," she continued, saying the sentence in a rush. "You called me prey. You said you liked it when prey put up a challenge. I managed to knock you unconscious, mostly by luck. Then I carried you out of the warehouse and into a wall of cops. They had followed us there. Then you were brought here. Apparently after that you had woken up a couple of times and reacted violently. That's why you're under restraint and why there are a couple of cops outside the door."

Silence fell around the assembled team and it felt like it was pressing against the human girl's ears.

"Why were you two even there?" Andrew asked. Marie let out a breath and gave the boys the highlights of that day and the day before. She edited out the details of the nightmare she had had, simply saying that she'd had a worse than usual dream. It was pretty common knowledge by this point that she never slept well. She also didn't mention her discovery about Blake Belladonna being a Faunus. It wasn't relevant.

The wolf stared at the maroonette for a moment before speaking again.

"So, let me get this straight," he said. "You overheard what you think was a murder and then took Emily on a wild trip to try and find the person who did it, only to get caught in a trap and nearly get killed by the person you think committed the crime and his allies?" Marie nodded. "And you didn't call us, because…" he prompted. Marie let out a short huff.

"Because I didn't want you two getting involved," she said, her voice turning neutral.

"But it was okay to bring Emily in on it?" Andrew countered, his voice gaining an edge.

"She was already involved," Marie replied defensively. "She knew the details after I recounted that nightmare, I said that."

"So Dust forbid you bring the rest of your team in on the situation," Andrew said hotly. He stood straight and faced Marie head on. "Why didn't you call us? Tell us you needed help? Do you not _trust_ us?!"

"Andrew," Reginald said gently. The wolf didn't let up though.

"Don't you think that having a couple more pairs of hands would've been _useful_?" he asked. "Don't you think that, if we'd been there, things might've worked out differently?" Marie hands tightened into fists as Reginald stood and put his hand on Andrew's shoulder.

"Andrew," the ram said, more firmly. The wolf shook off his hand and didn't let up.

"I want to know _why_ ," he demanded. "We're a team. We're supposed to work _together_. Be _professional_. You said that yourself. I also seem to remember an agreement not to keep secrets either. So why didn't you _trust_ us to _help_ you?!"

"Andrew!" Reginald said with force.

At the exact same moment Marie screamed, "Because I didn't want to lose you too!" She was on her feet and staring directly into Andrew's eyes. There was a blazing light in her grey orbs that made them resemble the clouds of a thunderstorm. "You said once that I didn't know what it was like to not have a family or friends to fall back on. That I didn't know what it was like to only have my pride for company.

"You were right. I don't know what that's like. But I've felt something much, much worse. I've felt loss. I've felt loss that I shouldn't have had to feel for years yet. So don't presume to understand my choices. I made what I thought was the right call, and Emily had enough faith in me to respect that call.

"You don't think I realize that things might have been different if I'd made another choice? You don't think that I've spent the entire time I've been waiting for her to wake up thinking about how none of this might have been avoided if I'd called for backup?!"

"ENOUGH!" a voice thundered. There was a blinding flash of light and Marie and Andrew found themselves on the ground, their ears ringing. They simply laid there until their senses returned to normal. It was then that they heard another sound. Someone was vomiting.

Marie was faster. She sat up and turned towards the source of the sound a second before Andrew did.

Emily was leaning over her bed and vomiting into a trash can that Reginald was holding. Some part of Marie noted that the bands that had been lightly restraining the Faunus were still wrapped around her wrists, but that they had also been ripped from the bed. Reginald looked at Marie and Andrew.

"This isn't the time," he said in a reasonable tone of voice. "or the place. Andrew, Marie and Emily had their reasons for trying this on their own. What's important is that they're alive and they're back. Having said that, Marie, don't forget that we're a team. We're supposed to be in this together. At the very least in spirit, if not in person. Okay?" The two of them nodded.

"Are you okay, Emily?" Andrew asked. The Faunus girl nodded over the trash can.

"I don't know what happened," she said thickly. "Right as your argument got intense I just felt really sick."

"You also somehow broke your restraints," Marie added. Emily glanced at her arms and her eyes widened in alarm. She shared a look with her teammates.

"What's happening to me?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.


	35. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Marie sat watching Emily as she lay sleeping in her hospital bed, her chest rising and falling in time with her breaths. Classical music flowed through the air around the girls, playing from the unconscious Faunus' scroll. The sky outside the window was dark with night and some stars were still visible despite the light pollution from the city.

The hospital staff wanted Emily to stay for the night under observation to make sure that no problems suddenly arose. Marie had insisted that she stay with her partner. It had taken Oliver to help convince the hospital personnel that she could stay past visiting hours.

Andrew and Reginald had gone back to Beacon with Marie's insistence. Andrew hadn't wanted to leave, but a whispered comment from Reginald and Marie's solemn oath that she would call him the instant anything happened had finally persuaded the wolf to depart.

What Marie had really wanted was some peace and quiet. The hospital would prove to be more quiet than Beacon. Once word eventually got out that Emily had been put in the hospital, there would be a horde of fellow students who would want to send their well wishes and find out what had happened. Some would be sincere, like Pyrrha Nikos, who always seemed to be looking out for everyone, and Ruby Rose, who would likely look for a way to keep Emily's spirits up.

Reginald would probably be the one to handle all of the attention. He was good with crowds. The rumor mill would probably go insane as well. Andrew would likely knock down the more ridiculous rumors if it got bad enough.

Marie simply wanted to stay away from the attention and be close to Emily in case something happened. It was her fault that the Faunus was in this condition after all, and she probably wouldn't have been able to sit still if she wasn't nearby her partner right now.

The maroonette took a look at the slumbering Faunus. Emily looked so peaceful, laying there like that. Marie could almost convince herself that nothing was wrong with the girl when she looked at her. Almost. Because something had happened to her. Something had gotten in her and changed her, even if it was just for a little while.

The martial artist took a deep breath to get her mind under control. There was nothing she could do at the moment and getting worked up would only make matters worse for her, not to mention Emily.

"You're still here," a measured male voice commented. Marie almost leapt out of her skin in surprise. She hadn't heard anyone come in. She looked up to see Professor Ozpin standing in the doorway of the hospital room.

Marie quickly, but carefully stood up and said, "Professor Ozpin. I… I didn't expect to see you here. Sir." The headmaster nodded and gestured for Marie to sit again.

"I stopped by earlier," he said, his voice pitched so he wouldn't wake the sleeping Faunus. He moved a chair and sat so that he was facing Marie and able to keep Emily in his peripheral vision. "But after all of the excitement from your reunion with your team, I thought it might be better to wait until things had… settled down." Marie gave her headmaster a look.

"That was hours ago," she said, in a similar tone. "You've had plenty of time to do whatever you wanted to do. So why wait this long?"

"I was looking for…" Ozpin paused, as if he was looking for the right words. He eventually said, "similar reactions."

"Similar reactions?" Marie asked. "To what?"

"Stimuli," Beacon's headmaster said vaguely. Marie's eyes narrowed.

"What happened to my partner?" she asked in a low growl. Anger began to burn in the girl's chest. "What aren't you saying?" Ozpin merely raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the heat starting to slip into Marie's tone. The anger built in Marie's chest. "Don't you dare go silent on me after that," Marie growled, her voice starting to rise slightly. Some small part of the girl's mind that was still rational was warning her that getting angry at her headmaster was not a bright idea. The rest of her mind told the rational part where it could stick itself and continued to pick up steam.

From the bed next to them, Emily suddenly let out a moan and shifted in her sleep. Marie glanced at her partner and her anger instantly evaporated. After a moment, the Faunus relaxed. The maroonette looked at her headmaster and saw sadness in his eyes.

"Please," Marie asked in a low, defeated voice. "What's wrong with my partner? What happened to Emily?" Her eyes blurred, but she didn't cry. Her hand drifted to one of Emily's and she lightly took hold of it without waking the cat from her sleep. Professor Ozpin let out a sigh. And then he said the one thing that scared Marie more than anything in her whole life.

"I don't know," he said solemnly. Marie's eyes went wide.

"What?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Ozpin said. "I am old, but there are things in this world that even I am unsure of." He rose to his feet and looked down at the sleeping Faunus, his eyes looking troubled. "Miss Virden has changed, Miss Bordeaux. I am unsure whether it is for good or ill. I advise that you and your team take a couple of days to reorient yourselves. I'll speak to your professors." He leaned forward on his cane and met Marie's storm grey eyes. "Keep your emotions under tight control for the next few days, Miss Bordeaux. Make sure Mr. Deneem knows this too." Marie gave the headmaster a dumbfounded expression.

"What should we do?" she asked.

"Have fun," Ozpin replied in dead serious voice. Marie blinked in surprise.

"What?" Marie asked.

"Have fun over the next couple of days," Ozpin repeated. "It very well might save your partner's life." Then he left. Marie simply sat there for a moment in complete and utter shock. Then she quietly lunged for her scroll.

Andrew and Reginald were in the hospital room after a brief and hushed call. They somehow managed to sneak past the hospital staff. Marie didn't have a clue how they had managed to do it, and the only explanation that she had gotten was from Reginald, who said that they been 'silent and swift, like ninjas'. The response prompted a whack on the head from Andrew.

Marie rolled her eyes at the boys ritual and repeated Ozpin's words.

* * *

"How is she fairing?"

"Well, for the moment, sir."

"Excellent. What do you think her odds of survival are?"

"You… don't know, sir?"

"I'm asking you what your thoughts are on her odds of survival. Do not mistake what I ask."

"Of course, sir. I was merely surprised at the question, sir."

"It is excusable. You are young, both as a person and as one of us. But you understand her, and you might have a certain insight which could be valuable."

"Thank you, sir."

"So, what are your thoughts on her chances? A considerable amount of the Blood entered her body. Do you think she will survive?"

"… It is my belief that she has a chance to survive, sir. She may not appear it, but Emily Virden is strong. Ozpin did choose her after all. But, with the amount she took in… There is a significant chance that the Blood will overpower her and destroy her."

"Is that what you believe will happen?"

"She does have allies. Given the right environment, she might be better able to accept the Blood."

"Excellent. If she survives, she will be quite powerful indeed. Then we need only wait."

"Do you think they know of us? If they find enough evidence-"

"It is being taken care of, youngling. We have existed for quite a long time. We know what they will look for. We have given them what they need to keep themselves busy. Your mentor will handle the rest."

"Very well, sir."

"Now we will do as we have always done. We will watch. We will wait."

* * *

Professor Ozpin sat at his desk, lost in his thoughts. His face was creased in worried lines and he stared off into empty space. There was an old book that was thick with dust resting open on his desk.

It took him several moments to realize that his desk was chiming, letting him know that someone was waiting outside.

"Come in," he said and the elevator door opened. Heels clacked on the floor of Glynda Goodwitch entered. "Did you speak with Detective King?"

"Yes," Glynda replied. "He says that the warehouse was filled with enough weaponry to equip an army."

"Was there anything else?" Ozpin asked. Glynda hesitated before she answered.

"No," she said slowly. Ozpin glanced at Glynda inquiringly. "The police didn't find anything other than weaponry." Goodwitch continued. "But they did find shattered glass spread all over the warehouse floor. Forensics has also managed to find a couple of needles scattered around in the building, but the area has been known to house drug deals. They have nothing conclusive on that."

"How are they calling it?" Ozpin asked.

"Occam's razor," Goodwitch replied. "The police are calling it as a storage facility for the White Fang." There was a moment of silence before she continued, "However, Detective King told me that Miss Bordeaux gave testimony that at least one of the crates contained syringes, and that Miss Virden had landed through a crate that contained bottles of an unknown material. But there was no trace of anything like that at the scene. As a result, he'll likely have no choice but to call it as the rest of the department sees it." Ozpin hmmed and rose, walking until he faced the window behind his desk.

Glynda noticed the book that was lying open and walked over to read the page that was open. Her face adopted a twin expression to Ozpin's own and she looked at the Huntsman.

"Do you think this is true?" she asked.

"You know as well as I do how legends work, Glynda," Ozpin replied.

"But, this?" she asked. "It isn't possible."

"I thought so too," Ozpin said. "But now… I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" Glynda asked. Ozpin sighed.

"I went to see Miss Virden in the hospital," he explained. "She was asleep, but Miss Bordeaux was there. Miss Bordeaux grew angry and Miss Virden… reacted."

"Coincidence?" Glynda asked. She didn't sound like she believed her own statement. Ozpin gave her a look and she sighed.

"I'm excusing team EMRD from all of their classes for the next few days," Ozpin stated. Glynda raised an eyebrow.

"All right," she said, not objecting. "Is there a specific reason? Finals for the semester are nearly here." Ozpin sighed again and turned to look at the Huntress.

"I fear that if things go ill over the next couple days, none of them will really care that much. If what I think has happened has come to pass, they'll all be lucky if they are able to take their exams."

"And if they're not lucky?" Glynda asked. Ozpin met Glynda's eyes.

"If they're unlucky," he said. "Then they'll be dead."

 **Author's note: Shorter chapter today, but still a very important one. I hope everyone's been enjoying the story thus far. Things are beginning to fall into place and I hope I'm keeping the story flowing well. I want to try and post on a more consistent and timely basis, again, so I'm aiming to post on Saturdays. But, this is me so that'll probably fall apart extremely quickly.  
** **Until next time! Ciao!**


	36. Chapter 31

**AN: Sorry! Sorry! I'm late! I meant to post this yesterday and I got side tracked.**

 **Chapter 31**

Emily stood in the middle of downtown Vale, staring down the street in confusion. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her mind was fuzzy and it was hard for her to put thoughts together.

The street was completely deserted. There wasn't a trace of any living thing for miles around her. Cars were parked carefully in designated spaces and every shop on the street was marked as open for business. She could hear the buzz of a nearby shop's neon sign and another shop had a simple hanging sign in the door with the words "Welcome! We're Open!" upon it. All of the buildings had their lights on, but there wasn't a single person in or around them.

"Nobody's home," the Faunus said to herself. Her tone was disinterested, casual. It seemed oddly appropriate that there wasn't anyone around. That wasn't what was wrong.

She idly noted that the street was completely clean. The cement of the sidewalk wasn't cracked and the tarmac of the streets was black and fresh. There wasn't any litter, either. She checked a nearby trash can.

The trash can was half filled and completely level and there wasn't a hint of a recyclable item from what she could see. She decided against searching the contents to be sure. But that wasn't what was wrong. The cleanliness felt completely natural. The feeling of wrongness increased the longer she stood there. She looked up.

The sky was a bright and beautiful blue. White and fluffy clouds were scattered in the sky. There was just enough to be appealing without blocking the sun's warming rays. The temperature was comfortable and Emily could feel a small breeze passing by her. The weather wasn't what was wrong. It was natural and it was just about perfect.

Everything was just about perfect, she realized. The city was quiet, clean, and peaceful. There wasn't anyone around, but the businesses were all open and there were cars parked. The only oddity was that there wasn't anyone around. It was as if everyone in the Kingdom had stepped away for a small break.

The blonde's uneasiness kept growing. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. If she was certain of anything, she was certain of that. Something was wrong.

A thought struck her. Something was wrong? Yes. Something did not belong here. Something was not supposed to be here. Vale was peaceful and quiet without anyone in it. Except, there was someone in the city.

With that thought, Emily's stomach curled around itself. The answer was obvious. _She_ was what was wrong. _She_ wasn't supposed to be here. She was the problem. If she wasn't around, there wouldn't be a problem. Things would be normal. Things would be right. Everything would return to what it should be.

The cat suddenly realized that she was in her combat gear and _Wind's Edge_ was wrapped around her waist as it should be. The thought entered her mind so easily. It was the first clear thought she'd had this entire time. She had the power to fix the problem. If she went away, then things would be normal.

Slowly, her hand moved toward the hilt of her weapon. But there was resistance. Some force was making her hand move with agonizing slowness. Every rational part of her mind was telling her that she had to solve the problem, but despite that clear and irrefutable fact, she couldn't follow through.

Emily put more will into the attempted action and the counteracting force grew in intensity. She began to grow angry. It was the right thing to do. It was the natural thing to do. Why was this mystery force fighting her? Everything else was perfectly normal and rational, except for her. It made sense for her to be missing. She just knew it was the right course. So what was wrong with her hand?

She tried to move her hand away from _Wind's Edge_ 's hilt and her movement was unimpeded. She was so surprised that she stumbled, almost falling in front of a shop window. The Faunus straightened and looked into the window. Some… _thing_ stared back at her.

It was humanoid in shape and feminine in figure. Instead of feet, it had large talons, the white claws honed to a razor sharp point. The creature's knees were reverse jointed. Its arms were normal shaped, but the hands ended in talon-like claws, but with opposable thumbs and white sharp claws instead of finger tips and nails. It had great wings folded at its back.

The head was not humanoid. The monster had the head of a large bird wearing a white bone mask and burning red eyes. And it was black. Every part of its body that wasn't white bone or claws was a shade of black so dark that light seemed to fall into it. A Grimm stared back at her.

Emily recoiled in terror at the monster that stared at her and the creature mimicked her actions. It recoiled from her and the beaked face somehow managed to convey terror.

She tried to reach for her weapon to defend herself. The force met her arm and refused to budge. Not only that, but the Grimm mimicked her again, reaching for a copy of _Wind's Edge_ wrapped around its waist and meeting similar resistance.

Similar? Or exact?

Emily moved her arm away from the hilt of her weapon and the humanoid/bird Grimm did likewise. The Faunus reached a hand toward the glass and the Grimm copied her. She stopped suddenly and so did the Grimm.

Emily began to breathe faster and faster in fear and the Grimm seemed to be having a similar reaction.

Some small part of her mind that wasn't terrified realized what had happened with the window. The light of the sun reflected off of the glass at such an angle that the window acted like a mirror.

She looked down at herself and saw her normal body. She reached up and felt her cat ears, noting that the Grimm in the window copied her movements. The ears were still there.

She had to be having a nightmare. That was the only explanation. She had to having an extremely vivid nightmare. For some reason, she didn't really buy that argument.

"Of course you don't," the reflection said in a distortion of her own voice. It was almost imperceptibly lower and it was more gravelly, but it was her own voice. "You know better than that." Emily's brain nearly shut down when she realized that when the Grimm's beak moved in speech, her mouth did as well. And the voice had come from her, rather than the mirror.

"You are learning," the Grimm said with her mouth. "Not that it matters. You are mine. Accept this and your fate. I will destroy you, little girl. You and all of humanity and all you have worked to create. Accept it, little girl."

The monster's words woke something up in Emily. Anger and indignation surged through her and the fear utterly left her, along with the fogginess that had plagued her mind this entire time.

"Excuse me?!" she exclaimed. She noted that her voice had returned to normal and that the reflection's beaklike mouth moved in time with her words. She also noted that the reflection looked as surprised as she had when it had used her mouth.

"If you are going to threaten me," she continued. "At least have the intelligence to know who and what I am. I am not a member of _humanity_. I am a Faunus. As much as I am willing to stand at the side of humanity, I will not accept being called a human being. I am a Faunus. And I'm proud of it."

"Are you, little girl?" the monster asked, her mouth moving against her will once again. "I can see the dark pieces of your heart. The secrets and shames that haunt your thoughts. Do not lie to me, little girl. You are not so proud of your Faunus heritage as you proclaim." Emily's anger vanished and she felt unsteady without the support of the emotion.

"That's… not true." she said weakly. The monster laughed.

"You cannot lie to me, little girl. I know you." Emily shook her head, but there wasn't any emphasis in the motion. "You wish that you were born a human," the creature said. "You think that if you had been born without those ears that you would've been treated better. That you could've taken up dancing, or art. You think that if you'd been born human you wouldn't have been targeted by that girl, Terra.

"You think that if you'd been born human, you wouldn't be so soft. Having to depend on others to get you where you are. You think that if you were human you might be better able to lead your comrades."

Tears slid down Emily's face. The Grimm's face was not marked by tracks of water, but rather with tracks of crimson blood. "And you know that it is true. You've seen the human students. Pyrrha Nikos, confident and invincible. Ruby Rose, young and ahead of her class. Weiss Schnee, educated and near the top of her class. You know you could never match them, yet you keep up the pretense that you can consider them companions in an undertaking that is ultimately futile."

Emily slumped to the ground, broken. It knew. It knew her fears all too well. The feeling of wrongness crept into her mind once again. She was the problem. She needed to go. She reached for the hilt of her weapon, and the force didn't stop her this time. What was she, really? A failure in everything she had attempted. Turned away time after time in her attempts to dance and make art. Lost in the shadow of future huntresses that were so out of her league that she couldn't even choke on their dust. The least she could do was remove the problem from this perfect Vale. That way she could at least do something right.

As her hand was about to touch the hilt of _Wind's Edge_ she heard something. She stopped and strained her ears to listen.

"Why put off the inevitable?" the Grimm asked her. Emily ignored the voice and listened.

It sounded like claws scrambling on tiles. She looked around, but there was only cement and tarmac and buildings. There wasn't any tile for claws to scrape against. Was she imagining it? Then she heard grunts and shouts of surprise. A snatch of the words, "Stop that dog!" Except there wasn't a dog to be seen anywhere. And, was the ground shaking?

Emily pulled her hand away from her weapon's hilt and laid it on the sidewalk next to her. There was a slight tremor in the ground. And it was growing stronger, quickly.

Before she knew it, she heard something heavy slam into something solid and then she heard a clear, nearly deafening, and completely unexpected sound. A dog barking.

 **AN: So yeah, this was a thing. I'm not gonna lie, reading this always disturbs me a little bit. In any event, don't forget to favorite, follow, and drop a review! Until next time! Ciao!**


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